Booker is merging its Chef Direct foodservice business into the Best Food Logistics business it bought in March.
The move comes in the wake of a massive fall in sales at Chef Direct as the hospitality sector was hammered by coronavirus, prompting a review of Booker’s foodservice operations.
It is understood the sales hit is in the region of £100m, representing two-thirds of its total sales.
Booker created Chef Direct in 2012 as a rival to Brakes and Bidfood for servicing large restaurant and catering chains. Its main contracts include Prezzo and Aramark. It operates from a 559,000 sq ft distribution centre in Didcot, Oxfordshire, but the impact of the coronavirus crisis has made the site financially unviable. Therefore, as part of the merger process, Chef Direct will exit the Didcot site, which will then continue to be used to service the wider Booker Group.
The £1.1bn turnover Best Food Logistics supplies major chains including KFC, Pret a Manger and Burger King. MD Paul Whyte will continue in that role within the merged business, while Chef Direct MD Peter Mitchell will become logistics director at Best Food.
It is not currently clear if the move will result in job losses, but a Booker spokeswoman said that continuing to utilise Didcot would “allow us to minimise the number of colleagues impacted by this decision and we will be fully supporting them to find other roles within the group”.
The merger process is set to be completed by next year.
The news comes in the week Booker Group CEO Charles Wilson announced he would retire from the Tesco-owned wholesaler in February, after 15 years at the helm. He will be replaced by Tesco chief product officer Andrew Yaxley.
No comments yet