It is widely acknowledged that the last two years have been very “challenging” for British businesses, and the foodservice and hospitality industry has been particularly hard hit.
However, what is not widely known is the continuing positive impact that IFHC consultants have had on the specification of foodservice equipment during the pandemic years.
Although independent consultants have been hit by the drop in consultancy business many projects have still gone ahead, either because the clients had made long term commitments to new facilities or that they still see the need to invest in infrastructure for future business growth.
We have recently carried out a survey among the IFHC consultants to get an overview of the level of equipment specifications for projects that they have consulted on over the last two years. These projects will have been issued for tender to the catering equipment supply sector and will have been a major contributor to the resilience and, in some cases, survival of the supply chain industry.
Over £31.2 million pounds worth of foodservice equipment was specified by IFHC Consultants and includes items of cooking equipment, refrigeration, fabrication, ware washing, preparation and ventilation equipment. These specifications will have directly benefited the manufacturing, distribution and installation sectors of the hospitality industry.
The IFHC Management consultants have also still been active during this difficult period and they have reported that they have tendered, managed or administered contracts with a value of over £4 million pounds for their clients. Given the devastating effect of the pandemic on the operating sector of the industry this is remarkable.
These figures, prepared in consultation with the IFHC consultants, are intended as a guide to the role they have played, and will continue to play in the growth of business in the Foodservice and Hospitality Industry.
It is the equipment market, including cooking equipment, fabrication, refrigeration, ware washing, waste management, storage, preparation, serving, display and ventilation that is most influenced by the specifications of the IFHC Design Consultants.
It follows therefore, that the Consultants projects will also have a significant influence on the value of the spare parts and maintenance business in the UK for the projects they specify.
The following charts illustrate recent projects specified by IFHC Design Consultants broken down into the various catering equipment categories as a percentage of the total project value.
IFHC INFLUENCE ON THE EQUIPMENT MARKET
The projects shown cover examples of several different types of foodservice operations to give an overview of our market influence. The equipment categories included are counters, fabrication, cooking/prep equipment, ware washing, refrigeration, ventilation and other miscellaneous items.
PROJECT EXAMPLE 1
Project Type: B&I Headquarters Building
Project Value: £1.3m
PROJECT EXAMPLE 2
Project Type: NHS Hospital Trust Cook-Chill Production Kitchen
Project Value: £950k
PROJECT EXAMPLE 3
Project Type: Public School Restaurant
Project Value: £250k
PROJECT EXAMPLE 4
Project Type: Private Members Club
Project Value: £910k
LOOKING FORWARD......
Whilst the recent business difficulties are not completely behind us, IFHC consultants believe that the future is starting to look more positive.
They generally feel that their business has been, on average, down by between 50 -70% and while the £31.2 million pounds worth of specifications that have been produced recently is quite impressive, they are looking forward to their influence on the equipment market returning to the pre-pandemic levels of more than £80 million a year.