Watford FC Outsource for Stadium Catering with Lindley

Watford Football Club have inked a four-year catering contract with Lindley Venue Catering worth £5.6m ($8.8m)

The sports stadia catering arm of the Lindley Group will look after all aspects of the catering, hospitality and events business at the club’s 19,900 capacity Vicarage Road ground.

The services were previously provided in-house, but the club’s new chief executive Scott Duxbury aims to develop a new revenue stream with the appointment of a contractor.

“We have been looking at all aspects of the club and felt that catering and hospitality was an area where we could benefit from the expertise and experience of a specialist,” commented Duxbury.

“In speaking to other people in the business, Lindley’s name constantly came to the fore and I was aware of their reputation and had seen the results they were achieving at Premiership and other Npower Championship clubs.”

As well as catering, Lindley will be responsible for the sales and marketing function to increase use of the facilities for non-match day events.

Jonathan Davies, sales & marketing director at Lindley Group, added: “The fact that we were approached by Watford FC because they were looking for a caterer with a point of difference speaks volumes for how Lindley is now perceived.

“As a business with a new management team Lindley has also undergone something of an evolution over the past two years and with the creation of the Lindley Venue Catering division we have honed our skills in the professional stadia catering sector.”