Three catering stocks that are cooking up a storm

Compass Group (CPG) plates up 5.5bn meals every year. Despite its colossal reach, however, it is one of the lesser-known constituents of the FTSE 100. More’s the pity. Contract catering has boomed since the pandemic, and there could be plenty more growth to come. 

The world’s three biggest catering companies – Compass, Sodexo (FR:SW) and Aramark (US:ARMK) – increased their market share from 19 per cent to 21 per cent between 2019 and 2023. In the same period, regional players lost ground and the decline of self-operators accelerated.