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INDUSTRY
PROFILE |
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Coverpoint
Catering Consultancy Ltd
November2009 |
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| Jonathan
Doughty, Group Managing Director of Coverpoint Catering Consultancy
Ltd, talks to RLI about the company’s diversification
and growth into new markets, stressing the importance of personality
and personal relationships in building a successful business
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Coverpoint
views foodservice as a ‘people’ industry and, believing
that
the knowledge and experience that individuals bring to the business
sets it apart, it works tirelessly to employ ‘foodservice
people’, adding a greater depth and breadth to the company’s
services. |
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“Our
clients and operating partners value and respect this unique
approach,” says Group Managing Director, Jonathan Doughty.
“Our structure is simple, with each project delivered
by a named team. Each proposal sets out the involvement of
key personnel and we commit to our clients those resources
for the duration of the project.”
Coverpoint is currently active in 44 countries, including
of course the UK, a market that has proved incredibly important
over the past two years and in which the company has refocused,
particularly with its tenant support services.
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EThe
company is currently working with the Royal Botanic Gardens
at Kew, helping it to shape its food service for the next
ten years. “For me, this is a very personal project,”
says Doughty. “It is a world-class site and I have very
fond memories of Kew, to be able to work there is a wonderful
opportunity.”
Doughty and his team are also involved in a number of exciting
projects in Brazil, where it is assisting in the emergence
of a new and more sophisticated shopping centre product. “There
are already a lot of large and powerful centres over there,
but food sophistication is in its infancy. As the market fills
up, it will become more important to create synergies between
retail, leisure and food as projects head towards true mixed
use.”
Coverpoint is also working at the Holiday Village in Russia,
situated about 100km south of Moscow, where it is working
with Foster & Partners on a high quality, short-stay residential
holiday experience village.
The team is also currently involved in a number of other leisure
and retail food service projects in Russia which, despite
the economic downturn, are
progressing well.
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“This
year has been extremely challenging and there has been a great
deal of uncertainty in the marketplace,” Doughty explains.
“As a result, we have the largest number of proposals
that we’ve ever had, but also the shortest project stream
– effectively, our work has gone from longer- to much
shorter-term assignments.”
That said, Coverpoint is extremely agile as a business and able
to respond very quickly; delivery times have shortened, as has
the ability to enter markets and deal effectively with new projects,
leaving the company in a good position to exit the recession.
“Our key objective now is to retain the excellent team
that have been with us for the last ten years; to not shrink
that team and to be ready to capitalise on growth when it comes,”
he says.
There are a number of excellent projects that exemplify Coverpoint’s
abilities, though Golden Square in Sao Paolo, Brazil, stands
out more than most. This was a new market for the company, which
was able not only to mobilise and deliver the project in a short
space of time, but also to gain a thorough understanding of
the marketplace very quickly, adding value immediately.
www.coverpoint.co.uk
For the full article please see the RLI November 2009 Issue
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| INDUSTRY
PROFILE ARCHIVE |
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ERI
LTD - July/August 2009
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Paramount
Publications Ltd Suite 15, Hardmans Business Centre, New
Hall Hey Road, Rawtenstall BB4 6HH UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1706 212200 Fax: +44 (0) 1706 211782 Email:
info@rli.uk.com
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