Transforming Outsourcing Giants: US Entertainment Group Acquires Rhubarb Hospitality Collection
Los Angeles-based stadium operator, Oak View Group has acquired Rhubarb Hospitality Collection for a reported £100m. The British luxury catering service has recently won contracts for high-end destinations across London and New York. Now, Oak View plans to use the brand to compete with outsourcing giants Compass, Sodexo, and Delaware North. The company will first introduce Rhubarb’s services to owner-managed concert venues before bidding for third-party catering contracts. Oak View believes Rhubarb can take on the many “big and clumsy” outsourcers by creating a mid-range restaurant offering.
Expanding Abroad: Co-Op Arena and 10 Catering Contracts On the Horizon
As part of the expansion plans, Oak View will introduce Rhubarb services at its five US arenas and five other venues under construction; this includes Manchester’s Co-Op arena, which will become the largest indoor concert venue in the UK when it opens next year. Oak View is currently bidding for sports venues and convention centers to provide a premium dining experience through 10 large third-party catering contracts primarily in the United States.
Leadership Perspective: The Best in the Business
CEO Tim Leiweke expressed confidence in Rhubarb’s potential to assume its place at the top of premium catering firms. Leiweke believes that major outsourcers are “bulk” and can be too “clumsy” to fend for themselves in some situations. Rhubarb and Oak View seem determined to foster symbiotic relationships between venues and fans as essential to world-class hospitality.
Summary:
Oak View has acquired upscale catering service Rhubarb Hospitality Collection for £100m. Los Angeles-based Oak View Group intends to launch the Rhubarb offering in its owner-managed concert venues before bidding for lucrative catering contracts against industry giants. Oak View CEO, Tim Leiweke, believes Rhubarb can compete with the outsourcers, who he calls “clumsy and bulk”. Rhubarb has provided catering for numerous high-end destinations in recent years, including the Hudson Yards development and the Sky Garden at London’s Walkie Talkie building. Part of Oak View’s expansion includes 10 large third-party catering contracts to sports and convention centers, as well as the introduction of Rhubarb services to the Co-Op Arena in Manchester.
Overhauling Outsourcing
UK food outsourcing contracts in stadiums and music venues are currently dominated by six large outsourcers, delivering food options at both concessions and high-end hospitality. Oak View wants to take on these outsourcers, including Compass, Sodexo, and Delaware North, with Rhubarb’s mid-range restaurant offering. Rhubarb and Oak View believe that their approach of walking in the customer’s shoes and understanding premium dining are crucial to standing out from the rest. The catering industry is reliant on the sports and leisure divisions for growth to offset a decline in workplace catering contracts due to the popularity of hybrid work since the pandemic.
Opportunities and Challenges
The stadium and music venue catering contracts are lucrative and long-lasting, but they are also difficult and complex. It is apparent that large companies are ubiquitous in the industry, and it may take time to dethrone them. Outsourcing giants expanded their sports and leisure division in the 6 months leading up to March 2021, generating £2.1 billion in worldwide revenue — a 45% growth from the previous year. Rhubarb and Oak View might have a chance if they focus on premium hospitality and create a unique offering set apart from their competitors.
Engaging Piece
The hospitality industry has remained stagnant in many ways. Expected dining options have been the same for decades, and it is difficult to differentiate between outsourcers based solely on food quality. Rhubarb and Oak View believe they can disrupt this status quo by offering venues and fans a unique experience.
Companies may be taking notice that they cannot rely on overhauling just one division of their business to keep growing. In a post-pandemic world, workplaces are shrinking, and the catering giants’ revenue is declining. Companies are going to have to think outside of the box. Those that keep pushing the same products and services without making bold moves for the sake of change will inevitably go out of business.
If Rhubarb and Oak View can deliver on their promises, sports and music arenas will have an opportunity to offer a new level of hospitality. Catering is an essential part of the experience, and the Rhubarb offering is no ordinary attempt – it is a unique approach capable of competing on a global scale. Rhubarb and Oak View plan to create a seamless experience between venue, Rhubarb, and fans, underscoring the emphasis on world-class hospitality.
The Co-Op arena, in particular, is a major opportunity for Rhubarb to shine, given that it is the largest indoor concert venue in the UK. Concert-goers are no longer fans of mediocre, standard venue food; they have come to expect more. Rhubarb and Oak View believe they can deliver on this promise and more.
In conclusion, Rhubarb and Oak View are revolutionizing the catering industry with their unique approach. Large outsourcers may be too “bulk” and “clumsy,” as CEO Leiweke from Oak View describes them. Rhubarb has made a name for itself by providing catering at world-renowned venues, and Oak View sees the potential to take the brand to even greater heights. The situation is ripe with opportunity for new and exciting hospitality solutions instead of previous standard offerings. Rhubarb and Oak View seem to have a plan to rise to the challenge.
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A British luxury caterer catering to punters from Royal Ascot to the Royal Albert Hall has been sold to a US entertainment group backed by Silver Lake, which plans to use the brand to compete with outsourcing giants for lucrative contracts.
Los Angeles-based stadium operator Oak View Group announced its acquisition of Rhubarb Hospitality Collection on Thursday, outlining plans to first launch Rhubarb’s offering to its owner-managed concert venues and then bid for hospitality contracts. third-party catering for other venues.
Oak View paid at least £100m to Liechtenstein-based wealth manager LGT’s private debt team to buy the catering service according to people familiar with the deal, but they didn’t specify the exact amount.
Rhubarb has won contracts in recent years to provide catering for popular destinations including the Sky Garden, which sits atop London’s “Walkie Talkie” building, and the Hudson Yards development in central New York.
Oak View will introduce Rhubarb services at its five US arenas and five other venues under construction, including Manchester’s Co-Op arena, which will become the largest indoor concert venue in the UK when it opens next year.
As part of expansion plans, Oak View also plans to use Rhubarb to create a mid-range restaurant offering that can compete with outsourcing giants such as Compass, Sodexo and Delaware North for contracts.
Tim Leiweke, chief executive officer of Oak View, said he believes Rhubarb can compete with major outsourcers, who he says are “big and clumsy and sometimes can’t fend for themselves.”
“They’re just bulk, as we walk in our customers’ shoes as we run our arenas, so we understand premium dining, because we’ve been selling premium,” he added. Oak View is currently bidding for 10 large third-party catering contracts for sports venues and convention centers, primarily in the United States.
Six large outsourcers currently provide the lion’s share of food service to sports and music venues around the world, offering food options at scale, from concession stands to luxury hospitality.
“Not only do I think rhubarb gives us a competitive edge, but I think it’s the best in the business – and that’s based on 45 years of eating a huge amount of high-quality food and frequenting a huge number of suites,” Leiweke said.
Pieter-Bas Jacobse, chief executive of Rhubarb, said the Oak View team “understands our business model and we all see world-class hospitality as essential to the value proposition between venues and their fans.”
Large restaurateurs have increasingly relied on their sports and leisure divisions for growth to offset a decline in workplace catering contracts due to the popularity of hybrid work since the pandemic.
In the six months to the end of March, Compass’ sports and leisure division grew faster than any other part of the company, generating £2.1 billion in global revenue, up 45% on the same period last year. ‘last year.
However Peter Backman, an industry analyst, said it could take time to dethrone large corporations, as restaurant contracts tend to be “difficult, complex, lucrative and long-lasting”.
https://www.ft.com/content/021ee431-a4b9-4b7d-8459-69041e1888d9
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