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Center Parcs awards €15.2 million in contracts to Irish companies

Image of forest floor and tree trunks with sun shining in

05 July 2018

Center Parcs serves up €5.2 million in contracts to Irish food companies to supply Center Parcs Longford Forest

Four of Ireland’s top food companies will benefit from a significant boost to their businesses as Center Parcs announces the awarding of food supplier contracts to its Center Parcs Longford Forest resort – due to open in summer 2019 – worth a combined total of €15.2 million.

Center Parcs has awarded the following food supplier contracts:

  • Dublin based Keelings will be the fresh produce and dairy supplier
  • Family-run Heaney Meats in Galway will supply fresh meat
  • Coleraine-based Lynas Foodservice and Antrim-based Henderson Foodservice will be the premium foodservice partners to Center Parcs Longford Forest

Center Parcs offers premium family short breaks in a tranquil forest setting. Accommodation includes a fully equipped kitchen - however guests have a number of dining options which range from cafés and restaurants throughout the resort, to take-away dining or self-catering in their own lodges. The food suppliers announced today will supply the full range of fresh and foodservice produce to support the provision of these extensive dining options at Center Parcs.

Awarding these significant contracts, Martin Dalby, CEO of Center Parcs, commented: “We are delighted to work with these companies to ensure the food and beverage offering at our forest resort in Ireland is a very high standard. We selected these companies as they share a similar ethos to Center Parcs – they value customer service and quality.

"Our chosen suppliers carry the Board Bia Origin Green accreditation and this was a real reassurance to us that we can deliver on the provenance and high quality that Irish families naturally expect of their food and dining experiences.”

Center Parcs employees holding fruit from local suppliers

Colm Bury, Managing Director of Keelings Select, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded the contract as Center Parcs' fresh produce and dairy supplier. It is wonderful to see Center Parcs awarding contracts to local Irish businesses. With their focus on family time together, and our business being an Irish family business with strong heritage and experience, we believe this is a perfect partnership. We are really excited and looking forward to working closely together in 2019.”

Geoff Brennan, Head of National Accounts for Lynas Foodservice Ltd, said: “Lynas Foodservice are delighted to become a chosen supplier to Center Parcs and look forward to working together and growing together over the coming years.”

The €233m Center Parcs Longford Forest resort is due to be completed next year and will offer 466 lodges and 30 apartments to accommodate 2,500 guests wishing to enjoy a luxury forest short break in Ireland. During a Center Parcs short break, guests can enjoy more than 100 indoor and outdoor family activities, including the legendary Subtropical Swimming Paradise, and a range of restaurants and shops.

Center Parcs Longford Forest will create approximately 750 jobs during the construction phase and, when operational, the village will employ up to 1,000 people in permanent jobs and provide a €32m boost to Ireland’s economy.

Notes to Editors

About Keelings

Keelings is an Irish-owned family business, focused on growing, sourcing, shipping, marketing, sales, distributing fresh produce and supplying first-in-class produce-specific ERP software solutions and consultancy. Keelings is headquartered in North County Dublin in Ireland but has operations in the UK, Europe and is currently expanding into France. They currently employ approximately 2,000 people.

About Heaney Meats

Heaney Meats is a family business located in Galway run by brothers Kenneth and Shayne Heaney. The Heaney family’s association with master butchery stretches back more than 300 years. Heaney Meats produces high quality meats that are supplied to a customer base all over Ireland that has included some of Ireland’s most prestigious hotels and restaurants such as Dromoland Castle, City West Resort Dublin, Castlemartyr Hotel in Cork and Trinity College Dublin.

About Henderson Foodservice

Henderson Foodservice, based in Antrim, is one of the leading foodservice providers in Ireland. The company is a division of the family-owned Henderson Group of companies, who have been distributing food and grocery-related products to the convenience retail sector for over 100 years. In 2017, Henderson Foodservice celebrated its 50th year in foodservice providing the full range of products and services to all tenets of the catering industry. In 2018, Henderson Foodservice upheld the Deloitte Best Managed Company status for the fifth consecutive year and are now at Gold Standard. This year they were also awarded the Investors in People Gold Accreditation and won the prestigious Grocer Gold Award for Employer of the Year.

About Lynas Foodservice

Since it's humble beginnings nearly 70 years ago when the company was founded by Bobby Lynas, Lynas Foodservice has been dedicated to service and to providing customers with the best product. The company has evolved into the largest family-operated foodservice company in Ireland, which has recently expanded into Scotland. Lynas Foodservice, through three generations of the Lynas family, employs 450 staff, now has over 5,000 customers and offers over 6,000 products across frozen, chilled, ambient and non-foods.