Aberdeenshire firm at centre of takeover uncertainty has record breaking £82m year
Aberdeenshire-headquartered catering firm Entier has had a record breaking year with turnover hitting £82.5 million.
It comes as the takeover of the Westhill business by Aramark is in jeopardy after Britain's competition watchdog stepped in to investigate.
Entier, founded by chef Peter Bruce in 2008, reached a turnover of £82.5m in its accounts for the year ending September 30, 2024. This compares to sales of £76.8m in 2023.
The company made pre-tax profits of £2.8m in the same financial period, up from £2m the year before.
Mr Bruce has been described as 'another successful year' for the group.
Despite the uncertainty over its future ownership, Entier continues to operate as is and has achieved the record levels.
Some of this has been attributed to a rise in work within the marine and renewables sector.
Mr Bruce said: 'The business experienced growth despite challenging market conditions created by UK political policy and uncertainty.
'A significant contract with a client in the North Sea oil and gas production sector was not renewed following a retender process in the year, but this was more than compensated for by growth in the marine and renewables sector.
'Entier remains committed to supporting local communities and businesses by sourcing local produce.'
Entier employs nearly 700 people across offices in the UK, as well as Australia, Trinidad, Canada, Norway Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this year it announced it was being bought by food services giant Aramark, which had a turnover of £14 billion in 2024, for an undisclosed sum.
However, earlier this month the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched an initial enforcement order on both the Aramark group and Entier.
This order prevents the companies from integrating or transferring ownership until further review.
The CMA is investigating whether the merger could lead to a 'substantial lessening of competition' in the sector.
In 2016 the business added luxury catering with the acquisition of Perthshire Wild Thyme, which came with exclusive rights to catering events at Glamis Castle in Angus, Carlowie Castle near Edinburgh and the Glenturret Distillery in Crieff.
It's also catered for events such as the Ryder Cup and the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Mr Bruce said: 'The Wild Thyme business returned to growth, with several new clients and venues secured.
'The pipeline of events remains strong with over £364,000 of confirmed events for 2024/25'.
The latest accounts have revealed staff numbers have fallen from 697 in 2023 to 689 in 2024.
Despite the drop in headcount the wage bill rose from £38.5 in 2023 to £40.8m last year.
Entier continues to support its principal charity partner Friends of Anchor and other charities including Macmillan Cancer Support.
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