Catering firm wins £1.2m school contract

WARRINGTON-based catering company Taylor Shaw has announced that it has won a three-year, £1.2m contract to provide meals to a school in Liverpool following a tender process led by its students.

The company, a specialist catering firm which concentrates on the education sector, has been awarded the contract to provide dining facilities to St Francis Xavier’s College in Liverpool after impressing students with its range of services.

The contract begins next month, and includes the a remodelling of the school’s dining facilities. A new series of cashless payment points are also being set up to avoid large queues forming.

”We always relish the opportunity to listen to students to find out what they want whenever we plan new services, but in this case, they were actually an influential part of the selection process,” said Jim Lovett, managing director of Taylor Shaw.

“It was their input which caused us to redesign part of the dining room so that we can provide a speedier service, we understand they were also impressed the quality and variety of fresh, healthy food which will be on the menu from September.”

Taylor Shaw was co-founded in 2000 by Steve Shaw and Peter Taylor, but was sold to £38m-turnover catering group Waterfall Services in 2007. It is based at Genesis Business Park in Warrington.

The college’s business manager, Marie Black, said: “We have got a very active school council here and try to involve them on any major decisions which will affect both them and the pupils who follow them.

“If we are going to improve upon the number of people who opt for nutritious meals at lunchtime, we have to not only focus on the quality of the food but the overall experience for children.”