Following a series of formal retenders, on-site services provider Sodexo has successfully retained six education contracts across Ireland, with a collective value of €6.3 million over their lifetime of two to five years. The contracts for catering and hospitality services are with the University of Galway, three post-primary schools in the Republic and two in the North.

Sodexo currently manages 25 education contracts across Ireland, delivering a range of services that include catering, hospitality and facilities management on campuses that are home to around 44,000 second and third level students.

The number of educational contracts managed by Sodexo will increase further once construction is completed on six new buildings at Technological University (TU) campuses in Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Tralee, Athlone, Cork and at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dun Laoghaire as part of a €250 million Higher Education PPP project announced in late 2022. Sodexo will be delivering a suite of facilities management and technical services on those sites.

Deirdre Saunders, divisional director, Sodexo Ireland said: “We are delighted to be continuing these relationships and supporting our clients with services to meet the diverse needs and expectations of today’s student population. Eating trends are now geared toward powering performance, with students looking to make healthy and sustainable food choices – ones that meet their individual needs be it for sport, academic performance, creativity, mental health and overall wellbeing.”

Sodexo in Ireland is part of the global Sodexo Group, a world leader in delivering services that improve the quality of life to clients in business and industry, education, financial, pharma and healthcare. These include food services, infrastructure build, facilities and estate management, optimising the workplace experience, wellness experiences, personal and homecare services. Sodexo employs approximately 2,000 people in over 200 locations in Ireland and Northern Ireland.