Elior breaks records with 10-year Sunderland Uni deal


Food and drink at the University of Sunderland is set for a total regeneration after the University awarded a 10-year contract to Elior UK in a record-breaking education sector win for the leading contract caterer.

As part of the deal, Elior is making substantial investment to transform facilities at the University’s two Sunderland campuses – where it will cater for more than 12,000 students across nine food and drink outlets.

The offer will include several newly built coffee shops, including a Starbucks and several artisan coffee shops owned, operated, and trademarked by Elior, like Barista & Baker, Fontanella, and Green Parrot.

Each campus will also benefit from a brand new food court, where students and staff will be able to tuck into a constant rotation of sizzling dishes from around the globe as well as all of Elior’s latest branded street food concepts – including the award-winning Urban Rajah Indian Street Kitchen concept.

Connor Hickman, business development director for education at Elior UK, said: “From artisan coffee shops to global flavours, the offer has been designed to appeal to the tastes of students today. To help future proof the offer, we’ve made all the new spaces as multifunctional as possible. But equally, we want to respect the heritage of the University. We’ve been careful not to make changes for the sake of it, and we’ve kept lots of the original outlet names.”

The record-breaking win marks yet another significant contract for Elior in the university sector – following its recent successes with Roehampton University and Kingston University.