The five-year deal will see the caterer tasked with transforming foodservices across the University’s estate, with a focus on contemporary foods and customer service.

Elior will manage a total of nine catering outlets across the university’s Southwark and Havering campuses ranging from Costa Coffee and Starbucks cafés to restaurants and a Student Union bar.

The developments include a complete refit of the central refectory at the Southwark campus to create a destination food court and seating areas with Wi-Fi workstations. A range of new food and beverage concepts designed to meet customer tastes and deliver a contemporary and relevant ‘high street’ experience, will encourage students to stay on-campus and enjoy the new facilities.

Paul Fisher, director of education for Elior UK, says: “We will use our expertise and extensive knowledge of this sector to ensure a smooth transition and deliver a high standard of product and service. Providing an outstanding customer experience is paramount to our success.”

Concepts include: design your own burger concept, Heavenly Burger; hand crafted pizzas from Pizza Foundry; deli prepared sandwiches and salads from GO!SASA; an exciting street food offer - ChU, based on Malaysian, Indian, Oriental and North African cuisine and a noodle and soup offer - Umami.