Our story
Delicious, nutritious, fresh food. Prepared and served by people who really care. Since 1997, this has been our simple aim – and fulfilling it has helped us grow into one of the UK’s leading contract-catering companies, working exclusively with independent schools.
Our people
Rick Holroyd and Nick Howe, have always believed in building strong partnerships, tailoring our services to each school’s particular needs. This ethos has remained central to our business, and we’re happy to say our first-ever client is still enjoying our food today.
A people business
Join our portfolio of 220 independent schools, and you’ll see how our continued success is due largely to our people. We encourage everyone in our teams to develop their skills and express their individuality, bringing a little of themselves to every aspect of our service. We were delighted when this got noticed, and we became the first catering company to feature in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Two heads are better
Our partnership approach started when Rick and Nick created Holroyd Howe together, combining Rick’s strategic thinking with Nick’s operational expertise. Today, our Joint Managing Directors, Scott Morley and Robin Bidgood, also complement each other’s strengths, ensuring our clients benefit from a wealth of skills and experience gained across the catering and hospitality industries.
Some of our milestones
From 1997
The beginning
Rick and Nick met in the 1980s when both working in contract catering. Rick said he wanted to set up his own business eventually, and Nick said, when you do it, don’t forget me.
From the very beginning, we achieved success, highlighted by our early recognition in 2002 as finalists for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Shortly followed by ranking in the Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2005 and 2006.
2007
Joining forces with WSH
Joining WSH Group expanded our resources, increased purchasing power, and enhanced training opportunities – including The Chef Academy, providing valuable development opportunities.
2015
Formalising charitable giving
The Holroyd Howe Foundation launched, giving to charities in food and education.
2016
An award-winning year
Foodservice Cateys Award; Independent School Caterer of the Year in the EDUcatering Excellence Awards; first internal People Awards, celebrating the successes of our people.
2021
Environmental Awards
Two International Green Apple Environment Awards: Gold for Environmental Best Practice in Hospitality and Bronze for Environmental Best Practice Sustainable Development.
2024
The road to net zero
We are proud to be one of only a handful of food service operators globally with a ‘net zero by 2040’ target approved by the SBTi (Science Based Targets initiative).
Our values
These numbers keep growing…
With every meal we serve, we know our work is never really done. We will always be feeding independent minds, and always innovating to improve how we do it.
220
schools enjoying our food
13k+
meals served this lunchtime
53
apprentices currently in training
2k+
team members
28
years in business
Like-minded partners
Because we care about our people, clients and customers, we’re keen to work with like-minded organisations that help improve their lives and the services we provide.
Find out how we can help you
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Don't just take our word for it…
We’ve worked with Holroyd Howe since 2018, and while we were first impressed by the company’s commitment to providing high-quality nutritious food, sourced locally, we have since been even more impressed with the team of people who have a real passion for what they do and strive for excellence on a daily basis. We see their team as an extension of ours, working together not only to review and update the food offer, but also to achieve the school’s wider ambitions, such as our sustainability plan, wellbeing programme and educational objectives.
The Kings School in Macclesfield, Cheshire Finance Director
