CREMONINI WINS INTERNATIONAL TENDER FOR ONBOARD CATERING ON EUROSTAR HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER TRAINS LINKING THE UK AND CONTINENT.
New contract has estimated total revenues of over 250 million Euro and starts on
1 June 2007
Onboard catering services will reflect strong commitment to the environment
The Cremonini Group, through its UK subsidiary Momentum Services Ltd, has won the international tender placed by Eurostar for managing onboard catering services on the Eurostar high-speed passenger trains connecting London with Paris and Brussels.
The contract starts on 1 June 2007 and runs for five years, with an option to renew for a further two years. It was signed in London by Momentum Services Ltd, a subsidiary of Cremonini Spa ( 51%) and SSP Financing UK Ltd (49%).
Momentum Services will provide catering services for the millions of travellers who use Eurostar services, renewing its previous contract under which 1.5 million meals were prepared and served to Business Premier and Leisure Select travellers last year. Eurostar passengers in Standard class are able to purchase meals, drinks and snacks from the two bar-buffets on each train. More than eight million travellers are expected to use Eurostar this year, rising to 10 million travellers by 2012. .
Cremonini's strong environmental and food safety policies, which meet the standards of the "Environment Management System" (ISO 14001) and "Food Safety Management System" (ISO 22000) certifications, form key parts of the new contract. Improvements in catering services will be integral to Eurostar's recently announced Tread Lightly environmental initiative.
Cremonini's environmental commitments include using onboard disposable items (e.g. cups, plates, napkins) that are biodegradable or fully recyclable; segregation of all onboard waste; and the use of organic and / or Fairtrade food and drinks.
Eurostar's Tread Lightly initiative includes a 10-point plan to reduce Eurostar's environmental impact, and is based on three principles governing the use of materials and supplies: reduce usage wherever possible, source supplies responsibly, and recycle what is used or produced. Eurostar has also pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25% per traveller journey by 2012, and will become the world's ‘carbon neutral' train operator when Eurostar moves its central London terminal to St Pancras International on 14 November 2007.
Besides onboard catering on Eurostar's core routes of London - Paris and London - Brussels, there are additional services which have special catering requirements. These include the daily London - Disneyland Paris service, the weekly ski train to the French Alps in the winter, and weekly London - Avignon service during the summer.
With the award of this tender, Cremonini has confirmed its leading role aboard European high-speed trains. The Group is now the second largest European player for onboard train catering, with over 700 trains served in eight European countries every day, and more than 35 million customers annually.
Cremonini provides catering services on board a wide range of high-speed rail services across Europe, including Trenitalia in Italy, Thalys trains operating between Brussels, Paris, Cologne, Düsseldorf and Amsterdam;, Cisalpino services between Italy and Switzerland, TGV trains connecting Italy and France; French Corail and iDTGV trains; and on AVE services in Spain.
Cremonini achieved total revenues in the catering sector of 397.0 million Euro overall in 2006, up by 32.6% compared to the previous year. The "on board in Europe" catering activities, with over 3,100 employees, contributed 174.3 million Euro, about 27.5% of which was in Italy.
Eurostar is the high-speed, international passenger train service between the UK and the Continent. It has won the title of "World's Leading Rail Service" for the last nine years at the World Travel Awards.
Momentum Services Ltd has 750 employees and is a joint venture between Cremonini Spa (51%) and the SSP Financing UK Ltd (49%) for catering services on-board Eurostar trains operating between London, Ebbsfleet (from November 20007), Ashford, Paris, Brussels, Lille, Calais, Disneyland Paris, Avignon and the French Alps.
Cremonini employs over 7,600 people and is one of the largest food groups in Europe, operating in three business sectors: production, distribution and catering. It had total revenues of 2,348.8 million Euro in 2006,
The Group,is the market leader in Italy in the production of beef and meat-based transformed products (Montana) and the marketing and distribution of food products (MARR) to the food service sector. It has a significant presence in the catering sector and, in particular, is market leader in Italy for onboard train and railway station catering (Chef Express). Cremonini is also in second place in the Italian motorway catering market.
London, 31 May 2007
Contact :
Cremonini Spa
Luca Macario
Tel 0039 059 754627
Mobile 0039 335 7478179
Luca.macario@cremonini.com
Eurostar Group Ltd
Press Office ++ 44 (0) 207 922 4498
Press.office@eurostar.co.uk