Sodexo celebrates two new defence contracts

The contracts have a combined annual turnover of almost £3 million. At RAF Lyneham, Sodexo has been awarded a five year contract working in partnership with Serco and will see around 140 Sodexo employees provide services including catering, bar management, hospitality, cleaning, grounds maintenance, accommodation services and administration for the 800 personnel based there.

In Portsmouth, Sodexo will be working in partnership with Fleet Support Limited (FSL); an engineering and support services company, providing services such as ship repair and waterfront support to the Royal Navy and other customers. The three year soft services contract at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard will see 85 Sodexo staff providing cleaning, window cleaning, recycling and bird scaring at the site, which is the home of the Royal Navy.

A popular visitor attraction, boasting the Royal Naval Museum and a visitor gallery showcasing the science and technology used by the modern Royal Navy, the dockyard also houses HMS Victory - the first iron hulled armoured battleship; HMS Warrior, the pride of Queen Victoria; and King Henry VIII's favourite ship, the Mary Rose.

Already employing 3,000 Ministry of Defence (MoD) personnel, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is now due to increase in size, following a government announcement that it is to build two new aircraft carriers; creating 1,200 new MOD jobs in the process.

Karl Martin, managing director for Sodexo Defence commented: “The addition of these contracts really enhances our portfolio of contracts within the defence sector. The sector has undergone a lot of change over the last few years and we are extremely pleased to have been awarded these two prestigious contracts. At Sodexo, we pride ourselves on our ability to build lasting partnerships with our clients through open, transparent relationships based on trust and exceptional performance. We look forward to working with the RAF and Navy at these sites.”