Compass serves up $500m buyback after profit boost
The world’s biggest catering group has raised its dividend by a third and promised to return another $500 million to shareholders after a sharp rise in annual profits.
Compass, based in Chertsey, Surrey, won a record amount of new work in its financial year to September 30, 2023, running canteens in offices, schools, hospitals and sports stadiums. In total, it signed £2.7 billion of new business, half of which came from businesses and venues outsourcing their catering operations for the first time. National Gas, Moorfield Eye Hospital and Unity Place, Santander’s new home in Milton Keynes, were among the new sign-ups.
“We’re seeing more outsourcing,” Dominic Blakemore, chief executive of Compass, said. “The world of regulation is tough: if you’re operating a food programme in
