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communication. We know them intimately and how to look after them and that is impor- tant. But we have to evolve,” says Roker.
National anthem So it’s fair to wonder in what ways this agile company has had to change since taking the decision to sell to national group CH&Co in February 2020. Vacherin was founded in 2002 by Philpott
and Hetherington, with co-owner Roker join- ing in 2006 and becoming managing direc- tor in 2016. Their reasons for selling will be understood by many independent caterers. “We were approaching the £30m turno-
ver mark,” says Roker. “We had 45 sites, [650 employees] and to expand further we needed to find a new office, invest in technology and sys- tems and build the team. To do that, we either had to invest or jump in with somebody else.” The trio had spent two years looking at tech-
nology systems while the potential CH&Co deal was rumbling in the background. “The team were in the dark,” says Roker.
“Eventually, we had to tell them what was happening. It was a hell of a time. Then, liter- ally two weeks later, Covid hit.” At which point, being able to tap into the
expertise and resources of a bigger company proved to be more of a blessing than expected. “There was a suggestion the pandemic
would last a few weeks. It was an incredibly tough time – but it would have been tougher if we hadn’t joined CH&Co,” says Roker. “It would have been difficult for we three owners coming out of Covid.” He was grateful, for instance, that CH&Co’s
central communications and HR were there to help decipher the stream of new rules, and he could share information with the managing directors of the other brands in the business. It’s certainly a deal that seems a good fit. CH&Co has a proven model of bringing
“It was an incredibly tough time – it would have been tougher if we hadn’t joined CH&Co”
together businesses with similar values – Vach- erin’s former competitor Harbour & Jones, for instance, had merged in 2017. Having sold 100% of the equity to CH&Co, Philpott and Hether- ington are no longer involved. Roker’s commit- ment was to stay and run Vacherin as a distinct London-based B&I brand in the group. “We had conversations with CH&Co chief
executive Bill Toner and chief operating officer Allister Richards and the message was: ‘if you want to buy Vacherin, you have to buy into the Vacherin brand’,” says Roker. The deal saw Vacherin take over CH&Co’s
existing London B&I business, growing from 45 to 100 contracts, with Roker holding fast to brand values. “I wanted the [new] business to
An initiative with sparkle
Since joining CH&Co, Roker has recruited his first full-time ‘head of sparkle’. “Sparkle is a commitment to clients that we
would never stagnate,” explains Roker. “We collect ideas from everyone from baristas to managers – to increase sales, reduce costs, make things greener – and incorporate them into a presentation to the client. “Every team is smaller than pre-Covid, so
some of those things are on the back foot. The head of sparkle gets the conversation back to the fore and gets the magic back.”
28 April 2023 | The Caterer | 25
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PHOTOS: SARAH LUCY BROWN
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