New Partnership with Compass Group

Press release Wednesday 1st July 2015

Wasps announces new 15-year partnership with Compass Group UK & Ireland

Wasps, the professional rugby union club and owner of the Ricoh Arena, one of the leading sports, exhibition, conferencing and events arenas, announces a 15-year extension to the existing partnership between Compass Group UK & Ireland and Arena Coventry Ltd (ACL), the club's subsidiary company, which runs the Ricoh Arena, in a deal expected to generate £195 million in total turnover.

Levy Restaurants UK, the sports, leisure and hospitality sector of Compass Group UK and Ireland, will provide all catering services for match day, conferencing and events until 2030, having retained and extended the contract which previously ran from 2007.

Compass Group UK & Ireland is one of several service partners of the Wasps Group, as well as official club partners; Land Rover, EMC2 and DS Smith, plus the club's new Technical Wear Partner, Under Armour, which was confirmed last month.

Wasps recently announced a series of planned improvements for the Ricoh Arena, including a partnership with Hilton Worldwide to convert the Ricoh Arena Hotel into a DoubleTree by Hilton. When all upgrades have been completed by the end of 2015, the Ricoh Arena will offer visitors a total of five bars, three restaurants on-site and over 20 food and beverage outlets.

David Armstrong, Group Chief Executive Officer, Wasps, said: "We are very pleased to have extended our partnership with Compass Group UK & Ireland. The increased length and investment of this new contract reflects the upward curve Wasps and ACL have followed since Wasps acquired the Ricoh Arena and aligned the brands. It also indicates a firm belief in what we can achieve off the field at our new home, through the powerful combination of sport, business and entertainment.

"Alongside the tripling of match day attendances, hospitality has increased by over 500% in comparison to Wasps' offering the previous season and the Ricoh Arena's Conference & Exhibition business turnover has increased in the first six months since Wasps' acquisition of the venue. We are confident both businesses will continue to grow as we aim to establish the Ricoh Arena as the UK's leading venue for sport, business and entertainment."

Colin Bailey, Managing Director, Levy Restaurants UK, said: "We are pleased to have extended our partnership with ACL and to be part of this exciting new chapter with Wasps at the Ricoh Arena. Wasps' arrival at the Arena has generated huge excitement among the local and sporting community.

"We pride ourselves on our powerful partnerships that create legendary experiences and this is a great example of how we'll be bringing this ethos to life - working to put the guest first at the Ricoh Arena to ensure they have a unique experience every time."

-ENDS-

Contacts

Wasps

Melissa Platt

Email: Melissa.platt@wasps.co.uk

T: 02088964871

M: 07809 512172

Compass Group UK & Ireland

Rachel Branigan

Email: Rachel.Branigan@compass-group.co.uk

M: 07468 708847

Notes to Editors

About the Ricoh Arena:

The Ricoh Arena is an award-winning venue which has a mix of state-of the-art conference, banqueting, exhibition, hotel, music and sports facilities. Visited by over 1 million people each year, it is a firm favourite in the UK for music promoters as well as business and sports event organisers.

· Home to Wasps and Coventry City Football Club

· 32,609 seater stadium 

· 121 bedroom hotel

· One of the UK's largest Grosvenor casinos

· 20,000 sqm of flexible event space across 80 rooms which can conference up to 7,000 delegates.

· Leading concert venue of 40,500 capacity - hosting concerts such as Bon Jovi, Oasis, Bruce Springsteen and Take That.

· 6,000 sqm Jaguar Exhibition Hall - accommodating 12,000 standing and hosting conferences such as Costa Coffee and indoor concerts such as Florence and the Machine, The Enemy, Britain's Got Talent, Radio 1 Extra and the UKs biggest gaming festival - Multiplay.

· 650 retractable seated auditorium

· Two on-site restaurants

· 20+ retail, food and beverage outlets

· 2,000 car parking spaces

Ricoh Arena official partners include: Ricoh, Jaguar, E.ON, Lloyds Pharmacy, Carlsberg, mcl create, Hygiene Solutions, Freeman.

About Wasps: 

Wasps is a professional rugby team which plays in the Aviva Premiership, European Rugby Champions Cup and LV=Cup. Wasps has been crowned European Champions twice and English Champions five times.

Wasps' official partners and suppliers include: Land Rover, EMC2, DS Smith, Under Armour, Pins & Stripes, Causeway, Ears, and Taylor's Port.

For more information about Wasps and our partners please visit:

Compass Group UK & Ireland

Compass Group UK & Ireland is part of Compass Group PLC, a world-leading food and support services provider with annual revenues of £17.1 billion in the year to 30 September 2014, and £1.8 billion of revenues in the UK & Ireland. We operate across the core sectors of Business & Industry, Healthcare, Education, Defence, Offshore & Remote and Sport, Leisure & Hospitality with a broad client portfolio.

Across the UK & Ireland, our operations span approximately 10,000 sites and include workplaces, famous sports and leisure venues, schools, hospitals, oil rigs and remote locations with much more in between. We employ more than 60,000 people and every day we serve millions of customers, provide services at hundreds of office buildings, clean thousands of square miles and protect tens of thousands of people.

For more information, please visit:

http://www.compass-group.co.uk/

https://twitter.com/compassgroupuk

https://www.linkedin.com/company/compass-group-uk-ireland

Levy Restaurants UK

Levy Restaurants UK is the sports, leisure and hospitality sector of Compass Group UK and Ireland. It is the market leader in the provision of legendary food and drink experiences at some of the UK's most significant sporting, arena, leisure and heritage venues.

Through strong client partnerships, Levy Restaurants UK creates bespoke food concepts, service standards and pioneering design, implementing a guest-first approach and ongoing innovation at each venue. With a company-wide passion for food, Levy Restaurants UK creates menus and food experiences that feature fantastic seasonal dishes, with a strong focus on British ingredients.

The company's portfolio of clients includes Chelsea Football Club, The O2, Somerset House, Earls Court Olympia, Hever Castle, Salisbury Cathedral, Edinburgh Zoo and Wembley Arena.

As well as providing tailor-made concepts for its clients, Levy Restaurants UK also deliver corporate hospitality, event catering, venue sourcing and leisure support services, through its portfolio of businesses. These include Keith Prowse (http://www.keithprowse.co.uk/home.aspx), Payne and Gunter (http://www.payneandgunter.co.uk/), Lime Venue Portfolio (http://www.limevenueportfolio.com/) and LSS (http://www.lssfm.com/). 

Website: http://www.levyrestaurants.co.uk/

LinkedIn: Levy Restaurants UK

Twitter: @UKLevy 

Instagram: @levyrestaurantsuk

Facebook :https://www.facebook.com/LevyUK

Address: Levy Restaurants Compass Group UK & Ireland Ltd, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge, UB8 1UX