GEL now catering in Colombia

BARBADIAN CONGLOMERATE Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL) has made a major acquisition in Colombia.

GEL announced that its subsidiary Goddard Catering Group (GCG) had diversified its portfolio into hospital catering with the purchase of Inversiones Ibero Caribe SAS, which is one of the top hospital and industrial caterers there.

On November 18, GCG acquired the entity, which is a leading event, hospital and industrial catering company. Ibero Caribe, which has 370 permanent and part-time employees, “provides quality catering to three privately owned hospitals in . . . Bogota, Barranquilla and Cali”.

The company also operates over 500 vending machines strategically located in these three cities.

“This acquisition now opens our company to the possibility of offering catering to hospitals, universities, and other such specialised institutions across the Caribbean region and in the other countries of Central and South America in which GCG now operates,” said Stewart Massiah, president of GCG.

“It is a major opportunity and a natural fit for us to move into this area where we can now offer food service in hospitals, not only to the patients, but also to the in house restaurants that service employees and cafés that cater to visitors to these institutions.”

He added: “We are happy that after months of negotiations, we have been able to reach this agreement with Jesus Mendez, the former owner, and his team, to make a smooth transition into our group, especially as we will be working with all the staff there and benefiting from their expertise.”

GE managing director Anthony Ali said the company had never “shied away from Latin America”.

“We have been doing business there for years, and it continues to be an area of focus. These markets are experiencing good growth and offer opportunities for us to expand our footprint and add capabilities to the group.”

He added that GCG was looking forward to the opportunities that the acquisition would afford it and GEL. (SC/PR)