Let's make a meal of our weak pound

Let's make a meal of our weak pound

 

Published Date: 07 April 2009

By Bob Rae of www.sheffieldstar.co.uk

 

 

Catering industry software developer Fretwell-Downing Hospitality is targeting Europe for growth on the back of major expansion in the UK and the weakness of the pound.

 

The quick-footed Sheffield firm has become a market leader in the local authority and educational catering sector, thanks to its development of software to calculate the nutritional content of meals, ahead of the Government's introduction of nutritional standards for school meals.

 

New markets are now opening up within the restaurant trade for its Saffron Nutrition software, after the Food Standards Agency's decision to encourage high street restaurants to display nutritional information for diners.

A the same time, sales of the Ecclesall Road company's management information systems are also buoyant as the catering sector looks for ways of combating the recession by improving cost efficiency and business forecasting.

But the company is determined not to miss out on opportunities abroad. It has asked specialist technology consultancy CRt to help it build up its business in Europe.

Fretwell-Downing Hospitality's sales director, Andrew Markwell, says: "Overseas expansion is the right move as we know similar catering challenges are being faced over there as there have been in the UK.

"For instance, the UK has been ahead of the rest in setting nutritional targets for school meals and now other countries are beginning to follow suit."

The company initially wants to target Spain, and Scandinavia, to capitalize on the growing awareness within public sector catering departments in those countries of the need for cost-efficiency and good nutrition.

CRt's commercial director, Richard Bloss, says: "This is one of the best ever opportunities we have seen for UK technology companies to move into Europe, not least because of the parity between the euro and sterling.

"FDH's software serves a niche market, and the technology is ahead of the rest in the hospitality industry."

Mr Bloss adds that the Sheffield firm has numerous export opportunities as its systems are flexible enough to be integrated with other IT technology and relatively easy to translate into different languages