Food for thought

The close partnership between Regent’s University London and its caterer Houston & Hawkes reflects their shared goals to provide nutritious, sustainable and high-quality food and drink to students and staff. FMJ had a taste

In December 2024, B Corp certified catering company Houston & Hawkes began a seven-year contract to provide in-house foodservices for Regent’s University London, including Regent’s Events, which manages internal and external commercial events for the university. Founded in 2019, Houston & Hawkes became the UK’s first B Corp certified contract caterer in 2022 and its relationship with Regent’s University reflects close cultural alignment with Regent’s University, which is also a B Corp institution.

The University occupies an enviable 11-acre private campus within London’s Regent’s Park providing a wide range of courses, including business and management, finance, arts and culture, design, law, psychology and psychotherapy to approximately 2,500 students, of which 80 per cent are international. The University is part of the Galileo Global Education Group which represents a network of 65 institutions covering over 110 campuses around the world.

Carl Teigh, Chief Financial Officer for Regent’s University London, explains that providing students with a high-quality campus experience is a key priority.

“London is a global centre of excellence in catering and food offers and we try to bring as much of that back into the campus by making our foodservices a point of difference. This is why it was important when looking at catering partners to make sure our offerings were varied, interesting and of the highest quality.”

According to Neil Brooke, Director of Food and Drink at Regent’s University London, who manages the events team and oversees the university food services contract, quality, experience, sustainability and cost management were all key concerns in choosing a foodservice partner.

He says: “I’d been here about six months before the tender process began and it was clear to me that we could do much more. I knew there was lots of opportunity to improve the experiences of the students by going out to market and ensuring we were getting the best foodservice that we could.”

Simon Houston, Director at Houston & Hawkes felt the university’s emphasis on quality was very appealing along with the fact that both parties ‘spoke the same language’. Houston & Hawkes’ five-year plan centred around sustainability, matching the objectives in Regent’s five-year plan. An ensuing discussion confirmed Regent’s strategic, long-term goals aligned with Houston & Hawkes’ and that there was a great fit.

Explains Houston: “We knew Regent’s University London were on their B Corp journey, and they were pretty close, so the fact we were then able to support each other in many ways through that journey was really exciting and why the partnership was successful from the outset.”

B CORP STATUS

Achieving B Corp status involves a rigorous process that requires meeting a verified minimum score of 80 points on a B Impact Assessment (BIA), which evaluates how a company’s operations and business model impact workers, community, environment and customers.

For Regent’s University London the journey was prompted by moving from being an independent charitable organisation to joining the Galileo Global Education Group.

Says Teigh: “We wanted to ensure we represented who we are to our stakeholders in terms of being a business as well as a force for good and B Corp was something that I saw was getting increasing traction.

“In terms of meeting B Corp status, the key difference between us and Houston & Hawkes is around the supply chain as we outsource, so knowing they are B Corp and that outsourcing is key part of their assessments is helpful for us.”

Houston & Hawkes was launched in 2019 by Simon Houston and Dave Hawkes, both of whom had strong backgrounds in hospitality including senior level roles at leading caterers, including BaxterStorey and Bartlett Michell. As Houston explains, they were already notable for being the first startup in the space for over 14 years, so despite having to cope with Covid in the first 18 months of their existence they utilised the downtime to pursue B Corp status.

“There was a level of credibility that came with B Corp, which we were attracted to, as it’s a mark of quality and of authenticity. We’d already intended to work with local suppliers and offer staff the Living Wage, so we used it as a consultancy process to help create a framework in the way we wanted to do business.

“As the first B Corp catering firm in the UK, we wanted to be strict on those who we chose to do business with, and Regent’s University London valued our holistic approach to ethical partnerships including our supply chain which is very important.”