Bewleys sells 55% stake in Campbells Catering

FOOD group Bewleys has sold off its 55% stake in Campbell Catering Services to its US joint venture partner.

Campbell Catering Services was set up by Bewleys and American food giant Aramark a couple of years ago and supplies contract catering to more than 300 clients including businesses, universities and hospitals in Ireland.

Aramark last year attempted to increase its stake from the original 45% to just over 63%, but the new deal will see the US outfit take complete control of Campbell Catering. It was not disclosed how much the Aramark will pay but the price is believed to be several million euros.

The business has been one of the major growth areas for Bewleys and last year the company said the turnover of the business was in excess of €130 million. The business has around 3,000 employees across Ireland.

The takeover by Aramark, which has worldwide annual revenues of $13 billion, was given clearance by the Competition Authority in the past two weeks.

Despite the closure of its two flagships cafés in Dublin late last year, the Bewleys group is an extremely profitable company.

According to its last accounts, for 2003, the company made a profit of €5.4 million, reversing a €2.2m loss the previous year.

The closure of the cafés came despite protests form members of the public who accused the company ruining one of the major cultural landmarks in Dublin.

The company said the cafés had lost €4 million in recent years even though some €12 million had been pumped in to revamping the outlets to give them a new lease of life.