London Southend agrees £5 million deal with food and drink concessionaire

GREAT EXPERIENCE: The exterior of London Southend Airport

London Southend Airport has announced a new partnership with The Restaurant Group (TRG) Concessions. TRG Concessions will take over the existing airport operated outlets and their existing teams in June 2018. These will then transition into a bespoke pub and dining concept named The Navigator, along with Giraffe Stop and Costa outlets, during the summer. They have further plans to introduce more nationally recognised food and drink brands over the coming years.

This partnership will see TRG invest more than £5m developing the food and beverage offer at London Southend over the next 10 years, with these developments expected to create further jobs in the airport.

Glyn Jones, Chief Executive Officer of Stobart Aviation, owners of London Southend Airport said: “We are consistently voted Best Airport in London and a key part of our mission is to deliver a great experience for our guests. 

“We know from customer feedback that improving our food and beverage offer is the main way we can make their experience even better, so this new partnership with TRG Concessions, which will bring recognised brands to London Southend Airport, is fantastic news for passengers. It is also a great vote of confidence in the UK’s fastest growing airport, another step along our road to becoming both bigger and better.”

Commenting on the deal, Nick Ayerst, MD TRG Concessions, said: “We are delighted to have acquired sites at London Southend Airport, given its future growth prospects. We look forward to trading them with a view to developing further award-winning new concessions at the airport over the next few years.

“We welcome our new team members into the business and will be investing in them to help support future growth in our Southend business.”

TRG Concessions already has interests across the UK including Birmingham, Bournemouth, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool John Lennon, London Gatwick and London Heathrow airports.