The Arena Savoy Lecture is the jewel in the crown of the foodservice networking calendar, so as the leading foodservice agency, we were of course there in force. We were joined by our lovely clients from McCormick Flavour Solutions, official sponsors of the event, with their French’s Mustard and Frank’s Red Hot Sauces. The evening kicked-off with networking and bubbles (but of course) and the first talk of the evening, as Kate Nicholls, CEO of newly formed UKHospitality took to the stage to share what the merger of BHA and ALMR means for the industry. In a nutshell, the new trade body aims to ensure that the hospitality industry has a united and singular voice, which when you consider that the sector employs £2.9million people, accounts for 10% of UK employment, 6% of business and 5% of GDP, not to mention £130bn contribution to the economy (more than fashion and all the creative industries combined) and £40bn contribution to tax receipts, equal to the entire defence budget or the Brexit divorce bill, is a rather large voice indeed!

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