Elior UK retains multi-million pound Linklaters contract thanks to offer focused on health and wellbeing

Elior UK has won the three-year, multi-million pound contract to continue providing catering services to the leading global law firm Linklaters - close on the heels of Elior at Linklaters winning the MIDAS award for the ‘best premium business and industry restaurant’.

Linklaters is committed to improving its employees’ health and wellbeing, and provides a wide range of services and benefits aimed at creating a positive and supportive environment for its clients and people. The recent refurbishment of One Silk Street, Linklaters’ London office provided, an ideal opportunity for Elior and Linklaters to work in partnership to support the company’s health and wellbeing programme.

Elior’s industry-leading approach to healthy eating and its commitment to the Government’s Responsibility Deal ensures that Linklaters’ employees and visitors alike will enjoy food that contains no artificial trans-fats and reduced salt.

Chris Sprague, client relationship director at Elior UK, says: “Linklaters attracts visitors from all over the world with different tastes, customs and eating habits so it’s vital that we can provide an international and healthy food offer that’s attractive for all. We’ve been working in partnership with Linklaters to create a fresh, exciting offer which we’ve proved can really meet this need, so we’re delighted to have retained this highly coveted contract. Our partnership extends to a shared belief in the importance of providing positive health and wellbeing at work.”

Bob Jones, Linklaters head of UK operations says: "Elior and Linklaters have worked extremely well together on the design of the new client and staff catering facilities at our London office. It gives users freedom of choice and offers a food court atmosphere with separate tenancies offering fresh healthy food you would find on the high street.

“Elior has been instrumental in the success of the health and wellbeing programme here at Linklaters. Its staff have really embraced the programme and are to be commended on their ongoing commitment and enthusiasm to it. Elior's commitment to developing its people and providing an ongoing comprehensive training programme means that the customer service provided to Linklaters people and clients really is of a very high quality.”

In the three-year deal Elior will provide catering services 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, running the legal firm’s restaurant, Silks, its coffee shop Silks Café and retail outlet Silks Essentials. Linklaters’ state-of-the-art dining facility creates an interactive, energetic and engaging experience that represents a shift from the traditional canteen-style of dining to a more retail orientated operation.

The emphasis is on professional chefs using fresh, seasonal and quality ingredients to create contemporary, balanced and authentic dishes. It is estimated that as many as 80% of the employees at Linklaters - very high by industry standards - regularly choose to dine in-house, enjoying everything from sandwiches, wraps and Paninis, to gastro-pub inspired dishes like fish and chips to authentic street food, curries and wood-fired pizza.

Elior also provide catering for the law firm’s partners’ dining room, five executive client dining rooms, 56 vending pantries and 68 meeting rooms at the Silk Street site and deliver similar services at the sites in the firm’s Bunhill Row and Colchester offices.