06 July 2017 
Cheryl Pick, Projects and Engagement Manager
TUCO have recently released their Business Models in HE Catering research.
To gain greater insight into this important area, TUCO commissioned The Litmus Partnership to research the sector’s various business models for delivering catering, hospitality and retail services. For this report, 48 members and colleges completed an in-depth, online survey and the results were augmented with visits to 7 member locations, additional telephone research with a further 4 institutions, as well as dialogue with the 4 leading contractors in the sector.
The report provides a fascinating insight into the models used to deliver catering operations and highlights what works well and which model is most profitable.
Some key findings are:
Seventy-three percent of the members surveyed manage all their catering in-house, with 23 percent using outsourced suppliers, mostly as part of a mixed in-house/outsourced model. Despite their low penetration, contractors and high street brands are eager to gain a larger share through innovative service and branding initiatives.
As a result of issues with performance, quality or contracts, 27 percent of members in the survey have reverted from some form of outsourcing to an in-house model in the past few years.
Sixty-four percent of members with in-house-only teams say they achieved a surplus in the previous financial year, while only 44 percent of those with a mix of in-house and outsourced provision made a surplus.
Click the following link to view the full report: Business Models in HE Catering
