Boutique caterer Bartlett Mitchell has just posted its best growth rate in five years according to the accounts posted this week at Companies House for the year ended 29 October 2014. Sales grew by over 11% to £21.3m.
Profits before interest and taxation (PBIT) took a slight dip in 2014 to £300,000 because of significant investments in key areas, but this has paid off because the company has enjoyed a period of significant growth in the past six months.
Sales likely to exceed £34 million
According to Chief Executive, Wendy Bartlett MBE, “Our last financial year delivered good growth and it was our strongest for five years. As we expected, PBIT was down because of that year’s planned investments. We made the strategic decision to build our senior leadership team in anticipation of growth, and we invested more in our IT infrastructure and the expansion of our quality and sustainability systems – in particular, our company-wide SRA accreditation, our ISO14001 accreditation for Head Office, and Investors in People. By the year-end, the Bartlett Mitchell team had grown to over 600 people and it’s thanks to them that the company continues to grow profitably.
“Whilst we’re extremely proud of last year’s achievements, we’re even more excited about the step changes that are taking place during 2015. Towards the end of 2014 and the start of 2015, we secured a tranche of major contracts and acquired Inn or Out Events, and based on our current monthly turnover levels, we expect that company sales for this year are likely to exceed £34m. The bold strategic decisions and subsequent investments we made are really paying off.”
Cash reserves
Bartlett Mitchell has always chosen to re-invest from profits, rather than borrow to invest, and last year’s achievements were again realised without recourse to outside funding or borrowings. Throughout the past financial year, Bartlett Mitchell’s cash flow increased significantly and the company has substantial cash reserves at its year-end.
About bartlett mitchell
bartlett mitchell was established by Wendy Bartlett and Ian Mitchell in 2000 to provide bespoke catering services to business clients in London and the South East of England. bartlett mitchell’s key focus is on providing innovative service and great, fresh food in a sustainable way. The company now employs over 700 in its team and caters at 85 locations for a wide range of clients in business and industry, education, healthcare and service industries. In 2015, bartlett mitchell was awarded the Sustainable Caterer of the Year award by the SRA for the second year running.
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