Investment Case

Compass is a global leader in food services, providing delicious and nutritious meals to millions of people across 40 countries, in addition to providing targeted support services.

Our extensive portfolio of B2B brands allows us to create a bespoke food and service offer for our clients and consumers. We operate across five distinct sectors to meet the different organisational requirements of clients and their evolving needs.

Our strategic focus on People, Performance and Purpose continues to underpin all that we do in our ambition to deliver value to all our stakeholders.

Outsourcing is growing


The addressable global food services market is worth at least $300 billion, of which Compass has less than 15% market share. This provides us a significant runway for growth, as nearly three-quarters of the market is still self-operated or in the hands of regional players.

In addition, there are further growth opportunities for Compass in vending, selected areas of food delivery, and targeted support services.

The drivers for outsourcing are also growing, due to increased regulation, operational complexity and inflationary pressures.

Graph showing the Food Services Market By Sector

Our competitive advantages

People and culture

Our people are at the heart of our business. Energetic, ambitious and entrepreneurial, they deliver amazing food and hospitality to millions of consumers worldwide.

Meet some of our people

Financial strength

A strong financial foundation with a low level of leverage means we can invest in growth, innovate our offer, and evolve our operating model. Our financial strength also attracts new clients seeking stability and long-term outsourcing solutions.

Read our Annual Report

Our sectors & portfolios of brands

Our sectorised approach is a key differentiator. We create bespoke culinary solutions using our extensive knowledge of our clients’ requirements. We also provide facilities solutions where needed.

Learn about our sectors

Decentralised structure

Supported by our Management and Performance (MAP) framework, MAP is a crucial element of our success: a simple framework embedded in our culture that standardises processes and increases efficiency.

Our strategy & business model

Culinary & digital innovation

We strive to provide clients and consumers with greater choice, award winning innovation and market-leading contemporary food offers. Our reach enables us to make tangible advances towards a sustainable future for all.

Meet our global culinary council

Scale in procurement

Our size enables us to pass on purchasing benefits to clients and consumers by offering better quality products at more attractive prices. Our spending with local and diverse suppliers and social enterprises enables greater reinvestment into social causes.

Our approach to responsible sourcing

Rewarding our shareholders

Compass is a strong cash-generating business with a clear capital allocation model.

We invest both organically and through acquisitions to drive growth.

Our policy is to pay around 50% of underlying earning through an ordinary dividend, with further additional shareholder returns when appropriate. We do this whilst maintaining a resilient balance sheet, targeting net debt to EBITDA in the range of 1x-1.5x.

Consistent with this framework is the return of excess capital to shareholders through a share buyback programme.