TV250 Awards: Top companies honoured


Six companies within the Thames Valley 250 – a key regional compilation now representing a combined £22 billion-plus turnover – were honoured with individual awards at an evening staged recently at Stoke Park, north of Slough


These companies are among those at the forefront “flying the flag for the Thames Valley” said David Murray, publisher of The Business Magazine.


Locally employing nearly 107,000, TV250 businesses make a very significant contribution to the national economy, he added, as he launched the 2016 listing of top privately-owned businesses within the TV250.


In recognition of the region’s ongoing vibrant business success story, TV250 sponsors – bankers HSBC, business advisers Moore Stephens, law firm Gateley plc, and The Business Magazine – had decided to honour six areas of top business performance.


A total of 24 finalists were selected for the six honours. They are profiled, and the award-winners are revealed on the pages that follow.


The seventh and latest annual TV250 listing is viewable at www.businessmag.co.uk.


Creating the right recipes for business success


Changes in modern workstyles are being reflected in the way we eat at work and the food choices on workplace menus.


As guest after-dinner speaker at the TV250 awards evening, Nico Prinsloo, group sales director of leading catering and hospitality company CH&Co Group, highlighted among other revelations the rise in popularity of informal all-day dining, ‘street food’, food provenance, work-space refreshment areas, and healthy eating but with occasional indulgence.


Today’s staff dining is no longer the timetabled breakfast, lunch and dinner menu, said Prinsloo. There is a growing casualisation towards food and drink consumption at any time of day, largely driven by the ‘anywhere, anytime, any device’ workplace freedoms provided by the Internet digital age.


Work was now often carried out within the dining environment – “sometimes we have to ask working non-diners to leave after their meals to make way for diners” – but overall covers and employee meal expenditure was increasing.


Very few companies nowadays provide free staff meals, and the trend is towards reduced subsidies, he noted.


Menus and food delivery are now far


more trend-focused and flexible to diner requirements, whether that be healthy eating options or to allow a little individual indulgence.


Hence, alongside healthier and proven- provenanced food, Prinsloo expects barbecue, premium burgers, and ‘street food’ to be among the growing megatrends in the next five years.


“Street food is here to stay. It’s not just a London trend. I was in Weymouth recently and noticed lots of street food available in the harbour area,” explained Prinsloo. “Informally and conveniently is the way people like to eat now.”


Changing attitudes towards all-day workplace dining have challenged the sector in its delivery of catering options, explained Prinsloo, but have also provided fresh opportunities for optimal use of workplace space.


“Our role is to add value for our clients, and today that’s about providing quality food choice and a venue in which to enjoy a suitable dining experience.


“Our sector is a changing, challenging but exciting environment,” he added.


Fortunately CH&Co is no stranger to adapting to change.


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – SEPTEMBER 2016


Founded by married couple Robyn* and Tim Jones in 1991 from their Reading home, CH&Co grew rapidly based on the creation of a talented, innovative foodservice team, strong working relationships, and high quality customer service.


The company’s entrepreneurial and independent business success enabled a series of astute acquisitions during the millennial-turn years.


Consolidation activity within the market led CH&Co to evaluate its operational brandings and mid-market position and last year CH&Co successfully merged with the Host Catering Group to form a critical mass of 4,500 employees, now serving more than 400 UK and Ireland locations and achieving a £200m turnover.


Today the CH&Co Group has diverse corporate staff dining and commercial catering and hospitality operations with clients such as Sony UK, M&S, BDO, Centrica, Elstree Studios, ZSL, London Zoo, Law Society, the National Assembly for Wales, Historic Royal Palaces (CH&Co also holds a Royal Warrant for catering services), several London livery halls and numerous restaurants, delis and coffee bars.


*Sadly founder Robyn Jones OBE died in September 2015


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