Musgrave  Foodservices has signed a €25 million three-year contract with Eurest Ireland, a leading provider of catering services to the business, industrial and State sectors.

Under the deal, Musgrave will supply Eurest's 160 catering units in Ireland with a full range of food products.

Musgrave Foodservices business was set up specifically to service the foodservices sector, which is made up of all business that offers "eating occasions" outside the home. Out-of-home eating accounts for almost 30 per cent of money spent on food purchases in Ireland, Musgrave said. Musgrave Foodservices director, Mr Peter Foley, said the contract was a "tremendous vote of confidence" in the firm.

Eurest is the main operating subsidiary within Compass Group, a global foodservice firm which has annual revenues of more than £9 billion sterling (€15 million) and employs more than 300,000 people in more than 90 countries. In Ireland, its contracts range from large, multi-site agreements with some of the leading employers in the State to smaller, single-site deals.

Mr Noel Mahony, managing director of Compass Group in Ireland, said Musgrave's multi-temperature capability was a key requirement in securing the contract.