Encore Catering has been appointed as the new catering provider for Glasgow's Tall Ship attraction in a £1.5M contract. The five year partnership began this month and has already instigated new business with five major events hosted at the venue.
Encore is a division of Cordia, the company set up in April to manage Glasgow City Council's direct and care services. Encore will provide catering and hospitality services at the 350- capacity Tall Ship venue on the River Clyde for events including weddings, corporate launches and conferences, university events, awards evening and annual dinners.
David Melvin, operations director for Cordia, said: "This is a significant contract for Cordia and Encore and naturally we are delighted to be working with the Tall Ship board and management and add the Tall Ship to our impressive portfolio of venues.
"The transition has been seamless and the early indications are very positive. Generating new business is the main area of focus and we are confident that we will be able to increase corporate footfall to the venue.
"the quality of food and service we provide to The Tall Ship is the very best in our sector and we are committed to sourcing the finest local ingredients and recruiting the best staff. The Tall Ship is a superb facility and as we work with its Chairman Frank Brown there will be many opportunities to build business over the next five years."
Created on 1 April this year, Cordia is the latest and, by some way, the largest of Glasgow city Council's arm's length organisations (ALEO), with a staff of almost 9,000. Its Encore division employs 400 hospitality staff, chefs and managers.
Encore provides hospitality at a number of Glasgow's leading tourist and visitor attractions including Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, The Burrell Collection, The Gallery of Modern Art and The People's Palace and Winter Gardens.
Frank Brown, Chairman of the Tall Ship said: "Encore's presentations in bidding for our contract demonstrated they had grasped and embraced the Trust's vision of the Tall Ship as a unique function venue with the City. The Board felt that with their expertise, experience and enthusiasm we could together invest in the infrastructure and facilities required for our move to berth beside Glasgow's new Riverside Museum.
"Our partnership with Encore will ensure that we deliver to our Function clients a truly unique and memorable event experience. Their efficient and professional handling of the changeover and initial phase of the contract have further cemented our confidence."