Shirt a Phobia

Sample Page

SSP is an operator of food and beverage outlets in travel locations. The company, headquartered in London, England, is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

History

SAS Catering

The business was established as a division of Scandinavian airline SAS Group under the name of SAS Catering in 1961.[2]

SAS Catering and Hotels was a separate division of SAS. The company operated a restaurant at Manchester Airport from December 1982, which was later known as the £225,000 ‘Lancaster Bar and Restaurant’.[3]

Scandinavian Service Partner

The Select Service Partner (SSP) division of SAS was acquired by Compass Group in May 1993 for £72 million,[4][5] where the company became Scandinavian Service Partner, run by Borge Ruby, and was Europe’s largest airport restaurant operator.[6]

Select Service Partner

Compass merged SSP with several other companies it owned, including Travellers Fare, British Rail‘s former catering division which had been privatised under a management buy-out in 1988 before being bought by Compass in 1992.[7] In 2006 the business was bought by EQT AB for £1.822 billion.[4] The company was the subject of an initial public offering in 2014.[8]

In 2023, SSP announced its entry to the Italian and Icelandic market. The company also announced its expansion in North America with the acquisition of the concessions business of Midfield Concession Enterprises Inc. (“MCE”)[9] and, later in 2023, the acquisition of the Calgary-based business ECG Ventures Limited.[10]

In 2024, SSP entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Airport Retail Enterprises Pty Ltd (“ARE”) in Australia.[11]

Operations

Three units in airport
SSP units at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand

SSP has a portfolio of brands, including its own and those it franchises. Brands range from well-known grab ‘n’ go sandwich shops and cafés to casual dining restaurants and bespoke high-end concepts. SSP operates international brands, national brands and local heroes, which are prominent brands in specific markets, as well as brands and concepts it has created. Some examples are:[12]

Own brand

Franchise partners

References

  1. ^ a b c d “Annual Report 2025” (PDF). SSP Group. Retrieved 28 January 2026.
  2. ^ “EQT to acquire Select Service Partner from Compass” (Press release). EQT. 9 April 2006. Retrieved 23 January 2019.
  3. ^ Manchester Evening News Tuesday 15 March 1983, page 33
  4. ^ a b “Compass sells Moto service stations and Upper Crust food chain for £1.8bn”. The Guardian. London. 10 April 2006. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  5. ^ The Scotsman Thursday 20 May 1993, page 20
  6. ^ Birmingham Post Friday 10 December 1993
  7. ^ “Travellers Fare”. Cinven. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  8. ^ “Shares rise in SSP stock market debut”. The Telegraph. 10 July 2014. Retrieved 8 September 2014.
  9. ^ “SSP Acquires Midfield Concession”. Airport X. 4 May 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  10. ^ “SSP Acquires Canada’s ECG Ventures”. Airport X. 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2024.
  11. ^ Walsh, Dominic (12 February 2024). “Australia deal offers appetising prospect for SSP”.
  12. ^ “Our markets – SSP”. SSP website. 5 December 2023.