Lindley Group Rebranded

NEW LINDLEY GROUP IDENTITY RE-DEFINES SERVICE PROPOSITIONS

From July 2008 Lindley Catering Limited will be changing its name to Lindley Group in a move which reflects both the expansion of the company during the past seven years and the company's plans for the future development of the business.

In addition to the new corporate name, the re-branding of the UK's No 1 stadia foodservice specialist includes the creation of three distinct foodservice operating divisions within the Group - Lindley Stadia; Lindley Dining and Heathcotes Outside - along with a fresh new-look for its re-styled website www.lindley-group.co.uk. At the same time a bespoke Heathcotes Outside website is also being launched www.heathcotesoutside.co.uk with links through to both the Lindley Group and Heathcotes sites.

Under the collective objective of providing "Excellence in venue catering" - the Lindley Group strapline - each of the three dedicated divisions will offer clearly defined catering propositions.

Lindley Stadia is Lindley Group's "food for all" operation providing a fast and efficient food and beverage service for thousands of hungry sports fans and concert goers in a very limited space of time. With its unique combination of stadia operating experience, its retail expertise and use of well known brands, Lindley Stadia aims to bring a dynamic new approach to public concourse catering.

Lindley Dining is focused on "good wholesome food" and helping venues to increase revenue from their hospitality catering by creating bespoke gastro-pub and bistro type menus featuring specially-selected regional dishes and local delicacies. The emphasis of this division is on providing good quality, wholesome home cooked meals in a high volume event catering environment.

Heathcotes Outside - billed as "the event catering specialists" - offer the ultimate culinary experience with menus featuring signature dishes created by Michelin Star chef Paul Heathcote. The hallmarks of Heathcotes Outside is in providing attentive and exceptional levels of service and sourcing the very best fresh and seasonal produce from selected local suppliers who take great pride in the quality and provenance of their food.

Explaining the rationale behind the re-branding of the business, Alex McCrindle, Lindley Group's Chief Executive, says: "Since Lindley Catering Limited was acquired by the management buy-in team in 2001, we've more than doubled the turnover of the business from £17.9 million to over £50 million today. We now provide a range of catering services in more than 65 venues from football, rugby and cricket clubs through to some of the country's most prestigious horse racing courses as well as theatres and arts and entertainment arenas.

"Our vision seven years ago was quite simple - we wanted to become the leading sports and leisure venue foodservice company in the UK and we have come a long way in achieving those ambitions. We are now firmly established as the UK's leading specialist in sports stadia catering and our expertise in public concourse catering is widely acknowledged within the industry as being second to none in this area. But clients are increasingly turning to us to help them ‘sweat their assets' and maximise the revenue from their venues outside their core business. As a result, a significant and increasing proportion of our revenue is now being realised through the development of mid-market and hospitality catering services.

"We wanted our company profile and business model to reflect these changes in market trends and to mirror the different facets of our business, and we believe that the creation of the Lindley Group and the three specialist divisions operating under the Group umbrella communicates more clearly the scale and wide scope of the catering services that we are able to provide for our clients."

 

News

news archive…

Colchester United Football Club:


Weston Homes Community Stadium provides a limited number of Community Events and activities on an at-cost basis to not-for-profit groups in the Colchester community. These events number a minimum of 24 in a calendar year. Room hire is provided free of charge and Lindley provide all catering at cost price.

In addition to Community Events Lindley provide a reduced priced event for local pensioners at Christmas time attracting 250-300 local elderly people for a get together for a celebratory Christmas lunch.

Bristol City Football Club (BCFC):


Lindley is working in partnership with Bristol City Community Trust at BCFC on their Healthy Schools Project. This project involves teaching school children about healthy lifestyles; the importance of linking food and being active through sports. Lindley has developed a cook book for kids that focus on healthy, affordable recipes that taste great. Lindley will demonstrate recipes to the school children when they visit the stadium and they can take away the cook books to continue the cooking experience at home with their families. This type of initiative brings to life what the children have been learning in their healthy eating sessions and will hopefully give them a taste for freshly prepared and healthy food.

Gloucestershire County Cricket Club (GCCC):


During summer 2012 Lindley hosted a cook and eat session with young cricketers where the Head Chef bought 6 ingredients and showed different ways with pasta, noodles and rice and spoke about food hygiene. This was met with great enthusiasm and will be continued into next year.

Warrington Wolves:


Lindley is involved in HM Prison Thorn Cross young offenders work experience scheme. This is where young offenders get let out on day release to complete some work experience to increase confidence, skills and help with future job prospects. Lindley has had people working in kitchens, front of house and The Warrington Wolves Club are also involved.

In October, Lindley became a Business Patron of Warrington Wolves Community Foundation. Recently established to engage local businesses with a passion for making a difference in the Warrington Community, The Warrington Wolves Charitable Foundation aims to help young people of Warrington reach and fulfil their potential through a wide variety of initiatives. As part of Lindley’s contribution to the Foundation we will cover the room hire costs and provide first class catering for all of the Patron Club’s events held at the Stadium throughout the year, including an annual celebration held to recognise Patrons’ support and provide an opportunity for young people to showcase their talents.

Leicester Tigers:


The Droglites Bar that Lindley runs in the Stadium uses four trained volunteer staff each game. The equivalent cost of the wages gets donated to two of the Clubs chosen charities.

Tottenham Hotspur Football Club:


Lindley is investing in a project with Tottenham Hotspur Foundation that will teach children in local schools how to make raised vegetable beds and grow seasonal produce. The schools will also receive healthy lifestyle classes and coaching sessions from the Foundation. The school children will visit our kitchens in the stadium and be shown how to prepare great healthy, seasonal meals from their produce. The end of term will finish with a farmers style market with the schools shoeing off their produce and our chefs getting involved in some theatre cooking. Teaching children about fresh produce; what it is, where it comes from, how to grow and cook it are all valuable lessons that will help improve their welfare long term and of course we will have some fun on the way!

The John Smith Stadium:


Lindley is working together with Kirklees College on a local education and training programme. The provides students in Kirklees College’s Catering, Travel and Tourism departments with an opportunity to gain hands-on experience working as part of the Lindley Catering team in match-day, conference, banqueting and event hospitality environments at Stadium. The scheme envisages both work experience placements and paid temporary employment. Selected students are offered personal development training programmes leading to potential offers of full-time permanent employment with Lindley. Kirklees College provide Lindley employees working at the Stadium the opportunity to study for formal qualifications and also develop apprenticeship schemes.

In early November Lindley held an event in conjunction with Huddersfield Police and Kirklees neighbourhood council. The general manager Anthony Hegney conducted a full stadium tour for Kirklees council residents based on talking about employment in the catering industry and the benefits of healthy eating. Martin the head chef did a short cookery demo in the kitchen he made a very basic pea & mint soup to show people how simple and cost effective it was to feed a family on a budget and they all got the opportunity to watch and taste at the end. The event was really well received and the Police have asked Lindley to host another one in April 2013.

Sheffield Wednesday Community Centre:


As sole caterers at the community centre to be built in 2013, Lindley will be using this as a showcase of our CSR initiatives. Lindley will integrate with the other partners at the community centre, such as the GP surgery and sports coaches to provide community workshops like teaching families how to cook affordable and healthy meals. Links between the Centre, Club and Lindley will be supported through the use of charity kiosks.

Bath Racecourse:


Lindley work with the local Bath University to employ staff for the catering operations at the racecourse. Lindley has developed an excellent relationship with the career advisor and throughout the last 3 years over 60 students has worked for Lindley at Bath Racecourse. This creates a sustainable workforce where students come back year after year and supports the local economy.

Notts County Football Club:


Lindley and Notts County Football Club are proud to say that they are sponsoring the RSPCA with a summer ball hosted at Meadow Lane. The Ball's fundraising will go towards animals at RSPCA Nottingham and the Notts Branch.

Sheffield Young Carers:


Lindley have worked alongside Sheffield Young Carers, a registered charity that supports young carers between the ages of 8 and 21, who provide a substantial amount of unpaid care to someone at home with a physical illness and disabilities. By supplying branded aprons for a Young Carers Eat & Greet Event, Lindley aims to help provide young carers with the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to learn valuable cooking skills.

Being Respectful:


By:

- Being polite and courteous
- Treating others how you would like to be treated
- Being respectful
- Listening, not hearing
- Asking, not telling
- Giving people the time to think

Being Unique:


By:

- Delivering a polished performance
- Being an ambassador for Lindley
- Having pride in what you do
- Doing things differently
- Offering suggestions
- Being an individual

Being Authentic:


By:

- Being yourself
- Being open and honest
- Being fair
- Being genuine
- Acting with integrity
- Sharing and celebrating success

The Hallmark of People Excellence:


Is how we express the values that are important to the Lindley Group, it is a guide for how we should conduct ourselves at work and distinguishes our people from the Crowd.

The Lindley Group believes that our people are precious. You are the most valued part of our business and you will help ‘Challenge the staus quo of hospitality and retail concession catering at your venue’ through the Hallmark of People Excellence.

Putting Your Customers First:


By:

- Enjoying Work
- Giving a warm and friendly welcome
- Being proud of the service you deliver
- Understanding your customers’ needs
- Going the extra mile to help
- Providing a fantastic customer experience each and every time.

Being Creative:


By:

- Encouraging new ideas
- Being passionate
- Showing flair
- Embracing change
- Being motivated and motivating others
- Welcoming feedbacks

Being Valuable:


By:

- Taking ownership
- Finding solutions
- Treating every pound as your own
- Developing yourself and others
- Exceeding your goals
- Striving to be better than our competitors