Independent workplace caterer PINCH is preparing for its next stage of development as turnover approaches £3 million, with a long-term ambition to create a business that can ultimately pass into the ownership of its management team.
Founded by Katy Thompson and developed alongside Chief Executive Nathan Jones, PINCH provides workplace cafés, full-service employee restaurants, corporate hospitality and events.
The business operates primarily within the built environment, working with organisations, employees and visitors across workplace settings.
Its approach is based on combining the responsiveness and direct client relationships of an independent operator with the management capability, commercial discipline and operational consistency required to grow.
PINCH believes the role of workplace catering has expanded beyond food provision, with clients increasingly considering hospitality alongside workplace culture, employee experience, building performance and how effectively commercial property is used.
Its proposition recognises that workplaces require different solutions depending on factors including occupancy, working patterns, budgets, customer expectations and how buildings are used.
The company also wants to challenge the assumption that smaller catering businesses are automatically disadvantaged when it comes to purchasing.
Rather than attempting to replicate the buying structures of larger multinational operators, PINCH is developing relationships with farmers, growers, food producers, manufacturers and other suppliers.
The aim is to use those relationships to improve understanding of provenance, seasonality, product quality and supplier capabilities while supporting informed menu development and purchasing decisions.
PINCH acknowledges that large operators can benefit from substantial purchasing volumes, established infrastructure and extensive supply chains.
Its approach is instead focused on combining appropriate purchasing volumes with supplier relationships, product knowledge, menu planning and commercial decision-making.
Thompson, PINCH’s Founder and Managing Director, has led the development of the company’s approach to food, service and client relationships.
Jones brings entrepreneurial and operational experience, including his previous leadership of Harbour & Jones.
Together, they have built the business to approaching £3 million in turnover.
The company believes moving beyond its current scale will require continued investment in management capability, recruitment, operational systems and financial controls alongside securing new contracts.
Its objective is controlled, profitable growth rather than expansion for its own sake.
Simon Esner joined PINCH as Chairman in early 2026, bringing more than three decades of hospitality, foodservice and facilities management experience, including more than 25 years with WSH.
His role is to support Thompson and Jones as they develop the company’s management structure, client relationships, business development strategy and long-term growth plans.
PINCH currently has three investors. Thompson’s investment is through sweat equity, while Jones and Esner provide financial backing.
The recent acquisition of independent workplace caterer Olive by Sodexo has also provided wider context for the company’s thinking about the future of independent catering.
PINCH recognises that acquisition can provide founders, employees and businesses with access to capital, resources, expertise and new markets.
However, it believes remaining independent can offer an alternative route for operators that want to retain direct relationships with clients and maintain greater control over how their businesses develop.
The company’s long-term objective is therefore not to regard an external sale as the inevitable outcome of successful growth.
Instead, PINCH wants to build a sustainable business capable of developing its own leaders and eventually giving its management team the opportunity to take ownership.
Achieving that ambition will require an appropriate financial and legal structure alongside effective governance, capable management and a planned transition of ownership.
The company sees management ownership as a potential way of rewarding long-term contribution while retaining the knowledge, relationships and culture developed within the business.
Its definition of sustainability also extends beyond areas such as sourcing, packaging, energy consumption and food waste.
PINCH considers the commercial sustainability of the business itself equally important, with financial performance required to support employment, investment, service standards and future growth.
The company intends to continue pursuing opportunities across workplace catering, restaurants, cafés, hospitality and events while strengthening its management structure and operational systems.
Its longer-term ambition is to build an independent catering business capable of growing in scale while retaining close relationships with its clients, suppliers and employees.
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