Glanmore Foods, the school meals provider, gets acquired by Compass Ireland!

Compass Ireland, a food services provider and part of the global Compass Group, has acquired Glanmore Foods, the largest manufacturer and supplier of school lunches in Ireland. Compass Ireland, one of the largest catering groups in the country, produces approximately 45,000 meals a day for workplaces, with an annual revenue of €100m. Glanmore Foods, a family-owned company, provides packed lunches, hot meals, and snacks to 400 primary and secondary schools that are part of the DEIS programme. It also operates on-site cafeterias in 42 schools and supplies the national ‘Food Dudes’ healthy eating scheme managed by Bord Bia.

Under the acquisition, Glanmore Foods will retain its business brand, management team, employees, and existing operations facilities and suppliers. The company will continue to focus on helping the Department of Social Protection to meet the recommendations set out by Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys. The Minister has recommended that every child in a DEIS primary school should receive a hot meal from September 2023, with the roll-out of hot meals to all remaining primary schools by 2030.

Deirdre O’Neill, Managing Director of Compass Ireland, has described the acquisition as a “unique opportunity” for the company. She said that Glanmore Foods is a fantastic business that is passionate about children’s health. From an operations perspective, it will be business-as-usual with a relentless focus on providing a best-in-class food experience for children and schools. O’Neill also added that there will be additional business potential for local Irish food producers.

John Mooney, Managing Director of Glanmore Foods, welcomed the development, saying that Glanmore Foods has state-of-the-art food manufacturing facilities, including a bakery and fruit packaging facility, all of which operate to the highest standards. He added that, combined with the professional resources of Compass Group, the complementary operations represent an exceptional business operation set for extensive growth.

The acquisition is subject to approval from the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.