Harrison Catering Services

Name

Harrison Catering Services

Legal name

Harrison Catering Services Limited

Website

https://harrisoncatering.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Harrison Catering Services is a UK family-owned contract caterer founded in 1994, serving approximately 135,000 meals daily across 310+ schools and corporate sites through four service brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Catering Services

NAICS

Food Service Contractors (72231), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Institutional Catering (Schools, Hospitals, Government) (THAFAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Corporate & Office Catering (THAFAIAA), Catering, Pantry & Food Service (On-site Refreshments/Events) (IMAIALAD)

Keywords

• Contract catering services
• School meal catering
• Corporate catering
• Independent school catering
• Food service management

Headquarters

HQ city

Thame

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Contract Catering Services: Harrison provides bespoke on-site catering services to schools and corporate clients under contract. The company prepares and serves fresh meals daily at client locations, with revenue generated through contractual agreements with educational institutions and businesses.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Harrison Catering Services is a UK-based contract catering company that prepares and serves fresh meals daily on-site at client locations. The company operates four dedicated service brands (Harrison Independents, Harrison Schools, Harrison Business, and Harrison Support Services) delivering bespoke catering to independent schools, maintained schools, and corporate clients across approximately 310 locations, serving 135,000+ meals per day. All food is freshly cooked on-site using quality, seasonal British ingredients under the 'Food with Thought' ethos.

Product overview

Harrison Catering Services operates as a unified catering service provider with four distinct service brands: Harrison Independents (independent schools), Harrison Schools (educational institutions), Harrison Business (corporate sector), and Harrison Support Services (in-house catering). The company complements its core catering operations with the Harrison Learning Hub, an internal online training platform for employee development, and supports the hospitality industry through The Geoffrey Harrison Foundation charity which runs Junior Chef courses at partner colleges. All services are anchored by the company's 'Food with Thought' ethos emphasizing fresh, quality ingredients cooked on-site.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Harrison Independents: Catering services for independent schools
• Harrison Schools
• Harrison Business
• Harrison Support Service
• Food with Thought
• Harrison TRAC
• Harrison Eat Well Live Well
• Harrison Street Food

Products and services

• Harrison Independents (Independent School Catering)

Quantifiable outcome

• Higher employee retention rates than UK Hospitality average
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

25 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Geoffrey Harrison FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFounded by chairman Geoffrey Harrison in 2011 to advance education and learning in hospitality industries. Supports Junior Chefs Academies at partner colleges and has helped over 2,500 young chefs. Total funding exceeds £1 million including contributions from Harrison Catering (£700,000+) and Savoy Educational Trust (£300,000).
• Savoy Educational TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided £300,000 in funding to the Geoffrey Harrison Foundation supporting Junior Chef courses at Westminster Kingsway College, University of West London, and Loughborough College.
• Independent Schools Bursars Association (ISBA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrison sponsors and attends ISBA conferences to showcase culinary offerings and build relationships with independent school bursars.
• Institute of HospitalitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe world's leading hospitality professional body has endorsed the Harrison Learning Hub (HLH), Harrison's online training platform. This provides industry recognition of Harrison's training quality.
• Ealing MencapminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide work placements and employment for people with learning difficulties through the Project Search initiative.
• Fortnum and MasonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in LACA's Host a School Chef initiative, hosting Harrison chef Morad for a day working in The Gallery restaurant.
• LACA (Lead Association for Catering in Education)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrison participates in LACA initiatives including Host a School Chef programme sponsored by Alaska Seafood.
• SpringboardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-time supporter and business partner of Springboard charity. Chairman Geoffrey Harrison serves as Life Patron. Harrison won Springboard's Best Education and Industry Partnership Award 2019 and Best Work Experience Provider Award 2016. Supports Springboard FutureChef competition.
• Royal College of General PractitionersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAccrediting body for the Culinary Medicine programme which Harrison sponsors by providing knives and aprons for medical students.
• Craft Guild of ChefsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of Geoffrey Harrison Foundation Junior Chefs Academies alongside Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.
• Westminster Kingsway CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Junior Chef courses (Year 10/11 students) through Geoffrey Harrison Foundation and first UK centre for Culinary Medicine programme pioneering Dr Rupy Aujla's initiative.
• University of West LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Junior Chef courses through Geoffrey Harrison Foundation, providing Saturday morning chef academies for Year 10 and 11 students.
• Loughborough CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner college for Geoffrey Harrison Foundation Junior Chef courses, supporting young people's culinary education.
• Burton and South Derbyshire CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew partner starting September 2025 for Geoffrey Harrison Foundation Junior Chef courses through Mulberry Fine Dining.
• Royal Academy of Culinary ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-sponsor of Junior Chefs Academies; Harrison is a key supporter of National Adopt a School Week initiative teaching children about food, provenance, healthy eating and nutrition.
• Project SearchminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInitiative placing students with special needs into permanent employment. Harrison recruited three catering assistants in 2015 and continues to participate.
• Camden SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing work placements and employment opportunities for people with learning difficulties.
• Foxes AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing work placements for people with learning difficulties who have found permanent employment with Harrison.
• London South East CollegesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrison provides work experience placements for students from this college group.
• HIT (Hospitality Industry Training)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHarrison was one of the first four companies to commit to HIT's new Traineeship Programme for 16-23 year olds combining work preparation, employment skills and industry training.
• Compassion in World FarmingminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAwarded Good Egg Award in 2012 for switching to British Free-range eggs, recognizing commitment to animal welfare.
• VegwarecoreOthersSince 2014, Harrison has used Vegware's fully compostable branded packaging. As early adopters of compostable packaging, Harrison removed single-use plastics using plant-based alternatives. Products are certified compostable in under 12 weeks.
• OllecominorOthersCollects and recycles Harrison's waste cooking oil into biodiesel. Partnership saved approximately 79 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year (Jan-Dec 2018).
• British Lion EggsminorOthersHarrison uses British Lion stamped eggs, certified safe for consumption during pregnancy and suitable for schools.
• Sheringhams Fine Foods LtdminorOthersFruit and vegetable supplier for sourcing seasonal British produce including asparagus, Jersey Royals and strawberries for Great British Produce Day events.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• CH&CO: Independent UK contract caterer with a strong workplace and education offering (including the Aspens school-catering brand). Comparable to Harrison on segment mix and independent operator positioning.
• Elior UK: UK subsidiary of Elior Group, one of the world's largest contract caterers, serving education, business and industry, and healthcare. Direct competitor to Harrison across schools and corporate contracts.
• Baxter Storey: UK premium contract caterer serving workplaces and independent schools. Closest comparable to Harrison on business model, independent positioning, and premium client base in education and corporate.
• Caterlink: UK independent school-catering specialist. Highly comparable to Harrison Independents on independent-school focus, fresh-cooked menus, and bespoke service model.
• Lexington Catering: London-focused premium contract caterer serving corporate workplaces. Comparable to Harrison's Harrison Business segment on premium B2B client mix and city-based corporate contracts.
• Aspens Services: UK specialist school caterer (part of CH&CO). Comparable to Harrison Schools and Harrison Independents on dedicated education-segment focus and multi-site contract model.

Broad incumbents

• Mitie: UK-listed facilities management and workplace services company with a catering and hospitality offering. Adjacent competitor where clients bundle catering with FM outsourcing.
• Sodexo UK & Ireland: Global contract services giant with a sizeable UK schools and universities business. Competes with Harrison in tendered education contracts but operates at much broader scale across multiple services.
• ISS A/S: Global facility services provider with food services in workplaces and education. Indirect competitor to Harrison where contracts bundle catering with broader FM services.
• Compass Group UK & Ireland (Chartwells): World's largest contract caterer; its Chartwells brand is a major UK education catering competitor. Larger scale and procurement leverage make it a primary incumbent benchmark for Harrison in school tenders.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/foodwiththought
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Harrisoncatering
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/harrison-catering-services
• Instagraminstagram.com/harrisoncateringservices
• Facebookfacebook.com/harrisoncaterer

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Harrison Catering Services