Key drivers behind the performance include high client retention at 96%, and US$4.1bn (£3.01bn) in new business wins.
Dominic Blakemore, Compass Group chief executive, said: “We’ve delivered a strong first-half performance, with underlying operating profit up 12%1, enabling us to increase our full-year profit guidance. We have great momentum across the business, driven by excellent new business wins, high levels of client retention and margin progression in both regions.
“As a result, we are raising our full-year underlying operating profit growth expectations for 2026. The market opportunity for food services remains very attractive and is expanding as we add further capabilities and target new sub-sectors for growth.
“We continue to invest in our competitive advantages – our sectorised model, purchasing scale and technology capabilities. Recent acquisitions, including Vermaat in the Netherlands and Pro Care Management in Germany, further enhance our European platform, supporting long-term, sustainable growth.
“By deploying data, technology and AI, we are operating more effectively and consistently at scale, improving decision-making and execution across the business.
“Compass operates in a highly attractive market, with sectors that are expected to benefit from continued structural growth. Our total addressable market has historically grown at around 5% per annum and could reach about US$600bn (£440bn) by 2035. Clients face increasing complexity, such as regulation, allergens and data-led insights, and these factors are driving demand for outsourcing across all sectors.
“Today’s results demonstrate consistent execution and the strength of our business model as our services become increasingly integral to our clients’ operations, supporting strong recurring revenues. For 2026, we now expect underlying operating profit growth above 11%, underpinned by organic revenue growth of around 7%, around 2% growth from mergers and acquisitions and ongoing margin progression.
“Looking further ahead, we remain confident in our ability to sustain mid-to-high single-digit organic revenue growth, ongoing margin progression and profit growth ahead of revenue growth.”