Brakes

What Brakes does

Brakes (legally Sysco GB Ltd., Companies House number 02035315) is the UK's leading wholesale foodservice distributor, founded in 1958 and headquartered at Enterprise House, Eureka Business Park, Ashford, Kent, TN25 4AG. The company supplies more than 40,000 food, drink, and catering product lines — spanning fresh produce, fresh meat and poultry, dairy, frozen, beverages, and non-food — to operators across pubs, hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, care homes, educational institutions, business and industry catering, quick-service restaurants, hospitals, and travel & leisure venues. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sysco Corporation (NYSE: SYY), Brakes participates in a global procurement and supply-chain network while retaining a distinct UK go-to-market identity and brand.

Underlying the distribution business is a B2B digital platform stack: the brake.co.uk e-commerce storefront; the mybrakes account portal (personalised pricing, order history, up to 20 favorites, allergen and nutritional data, 6am delivery notifications); the isupply supplier portal (purchase-order tracking, 12-month sales analytics, production planning, stock-level reports, self-billing); and ancillary tools including a Gross Profit Calculator and a Party Calculator. Customer loyalty is delivered through the mybrakes Rewards cashback programme, with redemption fulfilment operated by Carlton One and tree-planting offset routed to Veritree. Operations are supported by compliance infrastructure including BRCGS/IFS/FSSC22000/SALSA supplier acceptance, Food Safety Act 1990 conformance, GDPR-aligned data processing, and PCI DSS card handling via InteractiveTS.

Revenue is generated primarily through B2B wholesale product sales using a List-Less pricing model (average 24% discount off list, with volume-tiered discounts above that baseline), supplemented by affiliate/cashback economics from mybrakes Rewards and ancillary services such as the Arrow waste-oil collection programme. Go-to-market is omnichannel: enterprise field sales representatives for larger operators, inside telesales (Mon-Fri 7:30am-6:00pm, Sat-Sun 9:00am-5:00pm) for mid-market accounts, and self-serve e-commerce for SMB and long-tail customers. Paul Nieduszynski serves as Chief Executive Officer.

Name

Brakes

Legal name

Sysco GB Ltd.

Website

https://brake.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1958

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Brakes (Sysco GB Ltd.) is the UK's leading wholesale foodservice distributor, supplying 40,000+ food, drink, and catering product lines to pubs, hotels, restaurants, care homes, hospitals, and other foodservice operators across the United Kingdom via e-commerce, telesales, and field sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ashford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Foodservice Product Distribution: Wholesale distribution of food and drink products to catering businesses across the UK. Revenue is generated through recurring product sales with trade discount pricing based on customer volume and product range.
2. mybrakes Rewards Programme: Cashback rewards programme where customers earn rewards on purchases, redeemable as Brakes credit, merchandise, gift cards, or charity donations. Managed by third-party fulfilment partner Carlton One.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Brakes is the UK's leading foodservice wholesale supplier, distributing over 40,000 food, drink and catering product lines to foodservice businesses including pubs, restaurants, hotels, care homes, education, hospitality, coffee shops and quick-service restaurants. Operations are conducted via a multi-channel platform combining a self-serve e-commerce portal, dedicated field sales, telesales, and UK-wide delivery infrastructure, supported by sector specialisation, loyalty rewards, and supplier management tooling.

Product overview

Brakes operates as a comprehensive B2B foodservice distribution platform offering the UK's leading wholesale food supplier services with over 40,000 product lines across Europe through its Sysco GB family of specialist businesses. The core offering centers on food and drink wholesale distribution to foodservice operators including pubs, restaurants, hotels, care homes, education, and hospitality sectors. This core distribution business is supported by an integrated suite of digital platforms and services: mybrakes Account (online ordering and account management), isupply (supplier portal for 40,000+ product line management), mybrakes Rewards (loyalty programme with cashback), Gross Profit Calculator and Party Calculator (business tools), Customer Hubs (sector-specific support), Get Set Supply (small supplier programme), Waste Oil Collection service, and Allergen/Nutritional Support. The company also offers proprietary product sub-brands including the Noughty dealcoholized wine range and Sysco-branded food products. The platform combines physical product distribution with digital tools for order management, supplier management, customer loyalty, and business analytics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• mybrakes rewards: A loyalty and cashback rewards programme for Brakes customers, enabling them to earn cashback on purchases and redeem for credit, gifts, or charity donations.

Products and services

• UK Foodservice Wholesale Core Range Wholesale supply of over 40,000 food, drink and catering product lines delivered to UK foodservice operators including pubs, restaurants, hotels, coffee shops, care homes, education, hospitality, QSR, business & industry and travel & leisure venues.
• Customer Hubs Sector Support Programme Sector-specific support service offering product guidance, menu support, recipe ideas and dedicated expertise for ten UK foodservice sectors (Pubs, Hotels, Restaurants, Care, Coffee Shops, Education, Business & Industry, QSR, Hospitals, Travel & Leisure).
• mybrakes Rewards Customer loyalty programme offering cashback on online Brakes orders, personalised offers, gifts, merchandise, Brakes credit and charity donations, with each redemption planting trees through the Veritree partnership.
• Waste Oil Collection Service Environmental reverse-logistics service collecting used cooking oil from customers in partnership with Arrow, refunding £3 per 20L returned quarterly, with collected oil refined into bio-diesel producing 60% less greenhouse gases.
• Allergen and Nutritional Support Service Guidance service providing information to help foodservice operators comply with allergen and nutritional legislation and regulations, including detailed product allergen data for the 40,000+ product range.
• Get Set Supply Small Supplier Programme Programme supporting emerging small suppliers in foodservice with quarterly innovation sessions and a 12-month cohort programme including mentorship, marketing masterclass and access to Brakes colleagues, open to suppliers with BRCGS, IFS, FSSC22000, SALSA or BRC START certification and turnover of £10m or less.
• Noughty Dealcoholized Wine Range Premium range of dealcoholized still and sparkling wines including Sparkling Chardonnay, Sparkling Rosé, Blanc, Rouge, and Dealcoholized Rosé, made from 100% organic grapes from southern Spanish sandy and calcareous vineyards.

Quantifiable outcome

• Earn 10% cashback for 10 weeks on online purchases for new customers

Segments10 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ArrowminorOthersArrow is Brakes' waste oil collection partner, offering customers £3 per 20L of used oil returned (50% more than previous partner). Collected oil is refined and reused as bio-diesel, producing 60% less greenhouse gases.
• VeritreeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVeritree is Brakes' tree planting partner for the mybrakes rewards programme. Every time customers redeem their cashback, trees are planted in Veritree's community forest projects in areas of the world in need of reforestation and economic development.
• Carlton OnecoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCarlton One is Brakes' third-party fulfilment partner managing the mybrakes rewards programme. They handle cashback redemption processing, reward fulfillment, and customer communications for the rewards programme.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Booker Wholesale: Booker is the UK's largest cash-and-carry and wholesale operator, part of Tesco, serving independent retailers, caterers, and foodservice operators across the UK. It overlaps directly with Brakes on foodservice customer accounts and product range.
• JJ Food Service: JJ Food Service is a UK foodservice wholesaler delivering groceries, fresh, frozen, and non-food items to restaurants, takeaways, and caterers via online ordering and next-day delivery. It mirrors Brakes' B2B foodservice distribution model with a strong digital focus.
• Bidfood UK: Bidfood is the other leading UK foodservice wholesaler, operating a comparable broad-line distribution model across the same hospitality, healthcare, education, and QSR customer base. It is Brakes' closest and most direct head-to-head competitor in the UK market.
• 3663 (Bidcorp): 3663 is a UK foodservice supplier (part of Bidcorp) delivering ambient, fresh, and frozen products to hospitality and care customers. It competes with Brakes in the same UK foodservice segment with comparable broad-line distribution.

Broad incumbents

• US Foods: US Foods is one of the largest broadline foodservice distributors in the United States, serving restaurants, healthcare, hospitality, and education customers with a comparable product assortment and digital ordering platform. It is a useful comparator for scale, category management, and digital strategy benchmarks relevant to Brakes.
• Performance Food Group: Performance Food Group is a major US foodservice and convenience distributor with broad-line operations serving restaurants, schools, healthcare, and hospitality. Comparable to Brakes as a large broadline distributor serving similar end markets through multi-channel distribution.
• Gordon Food Service: Gordon Food Service is a family-led broadline foodservice distributor operating across North America, supplying restaurants, healthcare, education, and hospitality operators. Comparable to Brakes in business model, customer mix, and scale.
• Sysco Corporation: Sysco is Brakes' parent company and the largest foodservice distributor in North America, operating a global portfolio of broad-line and specialty distributors. It is the strategic and operational benchmark for Brakes, though its primary geographic footprint is the US.

Regional players

• METRO AG: METRO AG is a European leader in wholesale and foodservice distribution operating cash-and-carry and delivery businesses across multiple countries. It is comparable to Brakes in foodservice customer mix but operates primarily across continental Europe rather than the UK.
• Transgourmet: Transgourmet is a European foodservice and cash-and-carry wholesaler owned by Coop Group, operating across France, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and other markets. It is comparable to Brakes on B2B foodservice distribution but does not directly overlap in the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/brakes_food
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrakesFood
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brakesuk
• Instagraminstagram.com/brakesfood

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A1 record

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brakes