CHARLTON HOUSE GROUP LTD

What CHARLTON HOUSE GROUP LTD does

CH&CO (legal entity: Charlton House Group Ltd) is a UK-headquartered hospitality and contract catering group operating under the ultimate UK parent Orchestra Topco Limited. The group provides food, drink and hospitality services to a horizontal spread of seven end-markets — workplaces, education, healthcare, events, venues and stadia, livery and clubs, and visitor attractions/destinations — delivered on-site at 800+ locations across the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland by a workforce of 7,300+ people.

The company is structured as a multi-brand portfolio, operating seven wholly-owned specialist sub-brands: Company of Cooks (full-service venue and visitor-attraction hospitality), Create, EVE, Gather + Gather, Inspire Catering, Ultimate (premium hospitality), and Vacherin (catering and events). Each brand addresses a distinct hospitality niche while leveraging shared group infrastructure. The company registers in England (company number 09505062) and is privately held; the careers portal is hosted under Compass Group's UK recruitment domain, indicating operational or ownership-level integration with Compass Group's UK platform.

The business model is B2B contract catering with revenue generated per-site on bespoke contractual terms (pricing not publicly disclosed). The group does not disclose a proprietary technology platform; the corporate website references a "Tech" section but no AI, automation or digital-platform capabilities are documented. Go-to-market is enterprise field sales with dedicated on-site teams operating at client locations. The group operates without disclosed venture or private equity backing at the operating-entity level.

Name

CHARLTON HOUSE GROUP LTD

Legal name

CH&CO

Website

https://charltonhouse.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CH&CO (Charlton House Group Ltd) is a UK-headquartered contract catering and hospitality group operating 800+ sites across the UK and Republic of Ireland through seven specialist sub-brands, serving workplaces, education, healthcare, events, venues, livery and visitor attractions with a 7,300+ strong workforce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Contract Catering Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Food Service Contractors (722310)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate & Office Catering (THAFAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Hotel & Resort Banqueting (In-House Catering) (THAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Contract catering services
• Workplace hospitality
• Food service management
• Event catering
• Hospitality solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

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

Revenue model

1. Catering and Hospitality Services: CH&CO generates revenue through providing catering and food service solutions across multiple sectors including workplaces, schools, venues, visitor attractions, healthcare, stadia and events. The company operates at over 800 locations across the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CH&CO (Charlton House Group Ltd) provides contract catering and hospitality services across the UK and Republic of Ireland, delivering on-site food, drink and hospitality solutions at over 800 locations. Services are delivered through a portfolio of specialist sub-brands (Company of Cooks, Create, EVE, Gather + Gather, Inspire Catering, Ultimate, Vacherin) to clients across workplaces, schools, venues, visitor attractions, healthcare, stadia, livery and events.

Product overview

CH&CO is a hospitality and catering company operating as a collection of specialist businesses and market-leading brands. The group provides catering and hospitality services to diverse sectors including workplaces, schools, venues, visitor attractions, healthcare, stadia, and events across the UK and Ireland. The portfolio includes Company of Cooks, Create, EVE, Gather + Gather, Inspire Catering, Ultimate, and Vacherin — each operating as distinct sub-brands serving different market segments within the broader hospitality sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Company of Cooks: Food, drink and hospitality services brand
• Create
• EVE
• Gather + Gather
• Inspire Catering
• Ultimate
• Vacherin

Products and services

• Company of Cooks Full-service catering and hospitality brand providing food, drink and hospitality services to clients including venues, visitor attractions and events. It is the CH&CO sub-brand appointed as exclusive Food & Beverage/Events Partner for ALVA and as food, drink and hospitality partner for Ridgeview Wine Estate.
• Create Specialist catering brand within the CH&CO group focused on creative food solutions for clients.
• EVE Catering brand under the CH&CO group offering hospitality services to clients.
• Gather + Gather Catering and hospitality brand providing food and hospitality services across workplaces and other sectors.
• Inspire Catering Catering brand offering hospitality solutions as part of the CH&CO group portfolio.
• Ultimate Premium catering and hospitality brand under the CH&CO group.
• Vacherin Specialist catering and events brand providing hospitality services as part of the CH&CO portfolio.
• Workplace catering services Corporate catering, workplace hospitality, and meeting and event catering delivered on-site at client workplaces across the UK and Ireland.
• Education catering services School meals and catering services for educational institutions including schools, academies and universities.
• Healthcare catering services Catering and food services for healthcare settings including hospital food services and patient, staff and visitor catering.
• Stadia and venue catering Catering and hospitality services for stadia, sports venues, and other venues.
• Visitor attraction and destination catering Catering and hospitality for visitor attractions and destinations, including heritage sites and other cultural destinations.
• Livery and club catering Catering and hospitality services for livery companies, private members' clubs and membership bodies.
• Event catering services Event catering and venue hospitality services covering corporate events, conferences and private occasions.

Named customers2 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Ridgeview Wine EstatecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany of Cooks (a CH&CO brand) has been appointed as the food, drink and hospitality partner for Ridgeview, the English sparkling wine producer in Ditchling, East Sussex. This is the first time Ridgeview has outsourced its food and beverage offer.
• Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany of Cooks (a CH&CO brand) has been appointed as the exclusive Food & Beverage/Events Partner by the Board of Directors of ALVA. ALVA is the national membership body representing some of the UK's most important and popular visitor attractions.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Mitie: UK facilities management and professional services group with a catering and hospitality arm. Competes with CH&CO in workplace hospitality, events and venue catering as part of an integrated FM bundle.
• Elior Group: French-headquartered contract caterer operating across multiple European markets including the UK. Directly competes in business & industry, education and healthcare catering, with comparable multi-sector contract-driven model.
• ISS A/S: Global facility services company with significant food services operations, including UK workplace catering. Overlaps with CH&CO in workplace and institutional catering as part of a broader FM offering.
• Compass Group: The world's largest contract food services and support services group with deep UK exposure through its UK & Ireland business. Directly competes with CH&CO in workplace, education, healthcare and stadia catering, but operates at vastly greater scale across hundreds of countries.
• Sodexo: Global food services and facilities management company with a substantial UK contract catering presence. Overlaps with CH&CO across workplace, education and healthcare segments, though Sodexo also operates lodging and broader FM lines.

Direct peers

• Lexington Catering: London-headquartered contract caterer serving corporate workplaces, venues and events. Highly comparable operating model and target segments to CH&CO, particularly the workplace and events verticals.
• Baxter Storey: UK-based premium contract caterer focused on workplaces, venues and hospitality. Closely comparable to CH&CO in customer profile (corporate workplaces, visitor attractions) and brand-led service delivery, making it a primary direct competitor.
• Gather & Gather: Listed here for context: Gather + Gather is itself a CH&CO sub-brand; the broader market analogue is a workplace-focused contract caterer. Functionally this entry overlaps with the anchor and is flagged only to document the boundary case where the peer's brand sits inside the anchor's portfolio.
• Wilson Vale: UK contract caterer serving workplace, education and hospitality clients. Similar mid-market positioning and multi-sector service mix to CH&CO, though typically operating at smaller scale.
• Restaurant Associates: Premium UK contract caterer (part of the Compass Group family) serving corporate workplaces, venues and cultural attractions. Directly comparable to CH&CO's premium sub-brands such as Company of Cooks and Ultimate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/charlton-house-group-ltd
• Instagraminstagram.com/_chandco_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries7 records

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 CHARLTON HOUSE GROUP LTD