The big interview: Bennett Hay

Can a small independent really survive, let alone thrive, in the B&I market? Yes, they can – if the leadership and business models are right, Zoe Watts, Bennett Hay’s new managing director, tells Jane Renton...

Conventional wisdom in the catering industry has maintained that size is key to survival. The larger are more able to withstand tough economic headwinds. Being small and niche, the basis on which much of the B&I sector was built, has, however, been regarded for some time as untenable. This belief has been strongly reinforced by the series of sector mergers that took place right up to the first outbreak of Covid and beyond.

But is that still the case now? Post-Covid, there seems to be a plethora of new start-ups, all eager to have a go. Size, it seems, continues to be no bar to entry while established players, both big and small, struggle to regain lost ground.

It’s fair to say that life has been brutal for many, with nothing guaranteed in a market where an unprecedently high number of client contracts are up for tender. Yet Bennett Hay, with its current turnover at £15m, has somehow managed to achieve an unbroken growth trajectory throughout its 13 years of existence, as Watts – who took over the company as managing director, a role specially created for her, in March – reveals. “What was so amazing was that throughout Covid, we did not make any redundancies across our head office,” she says. “I don’t know of any other contract caterer that did that.”

So strong was the business model pursued by the London-based caterer that it could consider headhunting Watts, formerly Vacherin’s commercial director, for the role of business development director. That was during the summer of 2021, when Covid restrictions were temporarily easing off. But it was also a time when many firms in the sector were still getting rid of people, even top management.

Nearly two years on and Watts is now managing director and responsible for the day-to-day running of the company, which has not only survived the pandemic ordeal, but appears to be flourishing. Bennett Hay had to lay off site staff, like most other caterers, but its current headcount has now surpassed pre-Covid levels and stands at 270. Sales are also expected to grow by an impressive 20% this year.

Watts attributes this remarkable outcome to the sheer hard work and leadership of the company’s two founders, Robin Hay and Anthony Bennett. She says they were responsible for establishing the strong client relationships that are the bedrock of the company’s continuing success.

Their business model, which is entirely focused on the business and industry (B&I) sector, has also proved remarkably resilient. It is built on a mixture of catering, reception and what she describes as ‘blended services’ – essentially all the additional inter-linked facilities that support and enhance client brand image among guests and employees. These options – which can include hospitality, housekeeping, conferencing and porterage – are combined with a level of service more akin to that offered by five-star hotels, provided an undeniable degree of resilience during the pandemic. “Even when catering services halted, we continued to provide elements of our reception services,” says Watts. “That provided us with income. That, and clients, who have supported us over the years and continued to do so, underpinned us. It’s a loyalty that has been built up over the years.”

Both Hay and Bennett continue to play an active role in the company they founded. The latter, who was previously focused on business development and sales, now focuses predominantly on innovation, the cutting-edge improvements that will continue to ensure the company remains competitive and relevant to clients in coming years. Hay, meanwhile, will continue to run the operational side of the business, including human resources, accounts and governance, while Watts takes over the day-to-day leadership role as they collectively grow the company.

Watts, who spent five years at Vacherin, where she learned about the B&I sector, was previously a long-standing veteran in the events and hospitality industry. She spent many years in senior operational posts at iconic London venues, including at Tate Modern, which she joined in 2002 to establish its event catering arm. It was a role she clearly loved but eventually abandoned. “I had small children at home,” she recalls. “I realised I couldn’t keep shifting trestle tables at 2am before running home to make breakfast.”

Instead, she moved over to the retail side of the Tate, running its cafés and restaurants, before heading off in 2008 to the Natural History Museum where she was the client, overseeing contract catering, events and filming commitments. “It was one of the highlights of my career and such fun,” she says. “I had a manager who oversaw all the museum’s commercial activities and was a huge inspiration.”

It was a progression that also propelled her into the more commercial side of things, as she was responsible for running the venue sales team. This was followed by a brief stint at the Company of Cooks, then one at a creative events company, before she moved into B&I at Vacherin, where she confessed herself amazed by the range of talents and quality such a sector could offer. “It was a real eye-opener – the quality of the chefs, the food, the hospitality, the people in it, the events – and very different from most people’s perception of workplace catering,” Watts says.

She also realised, as a woman and mother, that the sector not only offered a huge array of fascinating, creative roles, but also a more flexible work/life balance, something that she has hugely appreciated. While there have been no regrets about this move, she admits the past 18 months have been hard, especially on the recruitment front, for all operators, including Bennett Hay. “It has been tough, the unbelievable recruitment drive that we’ve all gone through post Covid. I don’t think any of us realised that the re-start [of our industry] would be so full-on.”

There has been so much to do with not only reopening sites, but also training new recruits and refocusing the business to lift it to what she says is “a whole new level”. And that new post-Covid marketplace has undoubtedly changed. “We don’t have the same numbers in the workplace that we did,” Watts says.

There have, however, been compensations and clients have been recruiting heavily. Headcount may be down, but uptake is rising. “People are using our services more for staff dining, for their coffee consumption, for hospitality and events,” Watts reveals. “Our hospitality suites are operating at pretty much full capacity from Tuesday to Thursday, and even Mondays are increasing, but Fridays are still a challenge.”

The environment is still evolving, but revenues have not dropped to the degree anticipated when business first re-opened after Covid. “We thought we would see turnover drop at site level, but it hasn’t,” Watts says. “People are maximising their catering.”

But there has been no return to normality. Clients may be busy reconfiguring their offices and looking for economies, but also tailored blended services with a big dollop of innovation and customisation added in.

The healthy eating trend is also stronger than ever in the new environment, but it no longer means simply counting calories. “What healthy eating represents varies from one person to another,” says Watts. “We’re relaunching our Healthy Eating range with a focus on mind health and brain food, because we think that particularly supports our workplace customers.

“We’re seeing much more of a hybrid approach to catering. On busier days we’re seeing more traditional food on the counter, and on quieter ones its moving to more cook-to-order – a more customised approach.”

With corporate kitchens in new locations being decidedly smaller than might have been the case previously (or even non-existent), centralised production units (CPUs) are now essential. Bennett Hay now has two, one in London’s west end, which has been in existence for 10 years, and, more recently, one in the City. One supports its grab-and-go offers, while the other is aimed at helping individual sites cope with larger events. “This is a development that is not going to go away, and I also think that a CPUs add value with Natasha’s Law and all the allergen and nutritional labelling that we need to put in place,” says Watts. “We can also label the carbon footprint of our products produced there and add a level of consistency.”

All this presents many new opportunities for the company, as is evidenced by the winning of four new contracts so far this year covering sectors such as management consultancy, finance and advertising. Late last year, it also won and mobilised a reception contract for 11 Great Portland Estate Properties and it is currently mobilising a new client’s staff dining and hospitality operation.

Yes, Bennett Hay is a small company, a relative tiddler in the B&I firmament, but its star is shining brightly. “This sounds really cheesy, but it’s true,” says Watts. “One of our values is to be adventurous, and while we might make mistakes along the way, we don’t just want to keep coming up with the same service.”

Good things really can come from small packages – and smaller independent companies.

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