Spar UK has split up with its catering partner on its flagship Food to go initiative, and is planning to announce a new supplier at its annual conference in Orlando. In 1998, Spar unveiled a deal with The Compass Group, a multinational foodservice company which owns a number of brands including Upper Crust. The first Food to go counters were launched in spring 1998. They offered a range of cooked and ambient food to go such as chips and sandwiches, but their introduction into stores has been very slow. A spokeswoman for Compass Group, confirmed that its Select Service Partner division was no longer working with Spar. She said: "Select Service Partner will not be developing any further food to go units with Spar. "This decision was made in consultation with Spar UK after SSP decided to focus on its own estate to strengthen its own brands. "Seven Spar retail outlets currently have franchise agreements with SSP which is communicating directly with these outlets to ensure contractual obligations are met." A Spar spokeswoman confirmed it was no longer working with SSP, but said the existing Food to go counters had been very successful. She said Spar was in talks with a number of potential new partners for the project. - Spar has launched a trial of Faxfruit in 20 stores. It provides an ordering service similar to Interflora, but delivers fruit rather than flowers. {{NEWS }}

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