The latest performance stretches a long run of growth in every quarter since the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic in mid-2021.
It also marks an acceleration of growth in 2025, following increases of 8% and 9.5% in the first and second quarters of the year respectively. Groups’ MAT growth—for sales over the 12 months to end-September compared to the previous 12 months—now stands at 9.7%.
Karl Chessell, director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA at CGA by NIQ, said: “Contract caterers have substantially outperformed Britain’s hospitality sector in recent years, and these latest figures extend a stellar 2025.
“Strong organic sales growth and a steady increase in new contracts show the high demand for their services, despite multiple challenges in a high-cost trading environment. While there is no room for complacency, the catering sector will be entering the crucial Christmas season with high confidence.”
The Contract Catering Tracker, from CGA, Bidfood and UKHospitality, aggregates sales from leading operators to provide quarterly reports with year-on-year analysis.
It offers businesses a valuable benchmarking tool to measure performance across various metrics and market groupings, and participants in the Tracker receive additional analysis in return for their contributions.
CGA by NIQ’s partners on the Contract Catering Tracker include: ABM Catering, Bartlett Mitchell, BaxterStorey, Blue Apple, CH&CO, Compass UK, Elior UK, Harrison Catering Services, Olive Catering and Sodexo UK.
Kate Nicholls, chair of UKHospitality, added: “Contract caterers are clearly performing very well, which is remarkable considering the significant cost pressures that the sector continues to face. This continued growth shows the clear demand for the high quality services our contract caterers provide, and the potential the sector has for even further growth, if it’s tax burden was reduced at the Budget.”