Gather & Gather, part of catering and hospitality company CH&CO, has extended its partnership with Charlton Athletic Football club as the exclusive caterer for The Valley stadium and Sparrows Lane training ground with a new a five-year deal.
Gather & Gather’s specialist stadia team will continue to provide all hospitality and retail concourse catering at The Valley on matchdays, as well as selling conferences and events on non-matchdays, including meetings, exhibitions, private events, weddings and parties.
The team will also continue to cater for the men’s and women’s first teams, the club’s U23s and U18s at Charlton’s refurbished Sparrows Lane training ground.
Further to this, as part of the agreement, Gather & Gather will invest a significant amount of money into supporting the club in continuing to improve the matchday catering experience at The Valley.
Visitors and fans to The Valley can expect to see new menus across the stadium featuring more plant-based options, as well as a new VIP restaurant experience. Investment in technology, including new EPOS tills and digital dynamic pricing signage, will also provide greater efficiencies in service.
Customers to the popular Upbeats Kitchen in the West Stand, which is part of the Upbeats programme run by the Charlton Athletic Community Trust for young people and adults with Down’s syndrome, will enjoy the introduction of a bespoke Upbeats pie.
Upholding CH&CO’s top-level sustainability rating from the Sustainable Restaurant Association, Gather & Gather will focus on packaging and the elimination of single use plastic and maximising use of the local supply chain through the business’s South London Larder.
Managing Director for CH&CO Leisure, Rob Fredrickson, said, “We’re thrilled to extend our relationship with Charlton Athletic and have the opportunity to build on our shared successes to date.
'The new deal includes us investing money into new and exciting fan experiences in hospitality and in the concourses via physical and digital infrastructure as well as creating new and exciting food and drink menus for all the fans and visitors to The Valley.”
Charlton Athletic owner and CEO, Thomas Sandgaard, said, “Since I have taken over, one of the important bits of feedback from supporters has been around improving the quality of food and drink on a matchday.
'We have taken that feedback and worked with Gather & Gather to make improvements – which have included the innovative, and very popular Upbeats Kitchen in the Covered End.
'We know there is still more to be done and we’re really pleased that Gather & Gather has committed to investing in improvements to support our vision for an improved matchday experience.”
As part of the partnership, season-ticket holders get increased benefits, including an exclusive pre-game discount of 20% on food and beverages sold at The Valley’s concourse kiosks for a period of time before kick-off, and up to 10% off a match-by-match hospitality package at The Valley.