Compass Group

Reorganisation

In 2011, Morrison Management Specialist was re-organised into three sectors (Morrison Healthcare, Morrison Living, Touchpoint Support Services). Then in 2013 the Czech branch of Eurest was listed as one of the "100 Best Czech Companies" in 2013. The company also acquired Integrated Cleaning Management in 2013.

CEO Richard Cousins' death

On 31 December 2017, CEO of the company at the time Richard Cousins was killed in a seaplane accident at Cottage Point near the Hawkesbury River north of Sydney, Australia. The pilot of the six-seat de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver seaplane had been adversely affected by carbon monoxide poisoning from a cracked exhaust system. Cousins planned to retire in 2018, with the intention that he would be succeeded as CEO by Dominic Blakemore on 1 April; the succession was brought forward to 1 January 2018.

The acquisition of Unidine was completed on 31 December 2017. Unidine is a pure-play food service provider in the rapidly growing healthcare and seniors market in the United States.

Feedr acquired

In 2020, Feedr was acquired by Compass Group for $24m. Compass Group acquired Feedr just before the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the company to use Feedr's online technology to support both the business and people as it was able to send free meals to those in need using Feedr's technology. In 2024 Compass Group India opened a new kitchen facility in Bangalore. The company's eighth facility in India can prepare around 28,000 meals daily.

Medusa Ransomware incident

On or before 4 September 2024, a Medusa Ransomware affiliate hacked the Australian subsidiary of Compass Group, claiming to have stolen upwards of 785.5 gigabytes of data and demanding US$2 million. The company was hacked again around 18 September 2024, with the hackers demanding US$100,000.

Latest history

In January 2024, Compass Group acquired its British rival foodservice company CH&CO. In July 2025, the company announced the acquisition of Vermaat, a Dutch catering company, for £1.3 billion from Bridgepoint Group.

14forty is a UK wide facility management firm.

Eurest Support Services (ESS) is the subsidiary specializing in harsh-environment/large-scale food service and facilities management. Its primary clients are military forces and other security services, UN conferences and some Blue Beret army rations, major defense contractors, and construction, mining, the UN and oil exploration and production facilities worldwide.

Foodbuy is a foodservice procurement organization which operates in both North America and Europe. In the UK, Foodbuy UK was created after the acquisition of Acquire Services in 2015. It was awarded a contract by the Department of Health and Social Care in 2018 to buy food on behalf of the National Health Service. About 10 staff were transferred from NHS Supply Chain.

Integrated Cleaning Management is a major UK and Irish retail, leisure, health club industry, hotel and commercial cleaning firm with 10,000 staff and 5,000 contracts as of 2014. It sponsors the U.K.'s Springboard Charity Event.

Medirest operates in the UK and provides services in retail and medical places. Medirest Retail Shops and Cafes runs In-shop Cafes. It has several NHS contracts weld by A+ NHS cleaners clean hospitals, Pulse Hospital porters, who are NHS Hospital porters and Medirest Health Sector which do other tasks such as disposing of surgical waste, catering and cleaning.

The rivals firms who made the allegations of bribery were Es-Ko and Switzerland's Supreme Foodservice AG (Supreme was later investigated, fined and blacklisted by the US DoJ for 'price fixing' on US DoD contracts in Afghanistan). Officials initiated lawsuits claiming violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act and New York State's Donnelly Act regulating free trade. Federal investigations were held and the case was referred to the Serious Fraud Office (UK). The lawsuits, in which the two competitors who claimed a total of £600m in damages against Compass, alleged that Compass had tried to rig the awarding of UN contracts worth in excess of $350m (£188m) for United Nations peace keepers across the world. The long-running dispute centred on allegations that five senior executives at a Compass subsidiary, Eurest Support Services (ESS), bribed a UN official to win the contracts.

After its own £5 million, three-month internal investigation, Compass had declared it had discovered "serious irregularities" in its UN business, but that these were limited to "only a few individuals" who were dismissed: Peter R. Harris, Andy Seiwert and Doug Kerr. Mr Harris, who by then was the head of the group's British, Middle East and African division at this point. While Compass refused to make public its investigation, CEO Michael Bailey stepped down in June 2006. The subsidiary Eurest Support Services was soon restructured and reformed along a new business model.

The corruption allegations were also referred to the UK's Serious Fraud Office a criminal investigation by US federal prosecutors and wider investigations into UN procurement by both the Southern District Court of New York, the US Congress and the UN. Compass had agreed by October 2006 to pay to up to £40m to settle two lawsuits brought against it for allegedly bribing a UN official to win catering contracts. Compass Group did not admit any legal liability and paid a confidential settlement in the region of £40m.

Then chief executive of Compass Group, Richard Cousins, was quoted as saying: "We believe it is in the best interests of the business and shareholders, and good management, to avoid the uncertainties and costs associated with prolonged litigation. My focus is on the future and this settlement is a major step in putting the matter behind us."

Canadian prisons

The supplier of food to seven of Ontario's correctional facilities, Eurest Dining Services, informed the Halton Regional Health Department that some samples taken during routine surveillance had tested positive for Listeria monocytogenes on 21 November 2008. Dr. David Williams, Ontario's acting chief medical officer of health later commented on the issue.

New York City schools

Compass USA settled for $18 million on its overcharging on school meals in 2016.

2013 horse meat scandal

In February 2013, it was discovered that some meat products sold in the UK, Ireland and elsewhere contained horse meat without proper declaration or official scrutiny. As part of this Compass Group discovered, through testing, that it had unknowingly supplied concealed horse meat in burgers from Rangeland Foods supplied to a "small number" of schools in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Southern District Health Board

In 2016, the Southern District Health Board in New Zealand received numerous complaints about the quality of the food being served at Dunedin Hospital, where a 15-year contract was controversially awarded to Compass Group in 2015.

Louisiana State University

In 2019 Chartwells Higher Education, a Compass Group subsidiary, ended its relationship with Cenikor, a drug rehabilitation organization that had been providing labor for Louisiana State University's cafeterias. This followed the publication of allegations that Cenikor was supplying unfree labor (a type of slave labor) as contract labor and the opening of federal and state investigations into labor law violations. Courts in Louisiana often sentence defendants to terms at Cenikor as an alternative to prison or jail.

School meals during coronavirus pandemic lockdowns

The UK went into its third national lockdown in January 2021. Images emerged on social media showing small or poor quality school meals for children. Chartwells, a Compass Group subsidiary, was criticized, and the company issued an apology.

"Britain's most heartless employer"

Unite the Union branded Compass Group subsidiary ESS as "Britain's most heartless employer" in a dispute where outsourced cleaners and catering staff at the Ministry of Defence faced redundancy in a "fire and rehire" manoeuvre.

Corporate Watch's profile on Compass Group listed campaigns by Unison and GMB members against second class working conditions in NHS hospitals between 2011 and 2019.