TNI buys 50% stake in catering company NCC

The National Investor (TNI) has led a consortium of Abu Dhabi-based investors in the acquisition of a 50 per cent equity stake in National Catering Company (NCC), a private industrial catering and facility management businesses in the UAE, it said in a press statement.

The acquisition value was not disclosed by the companies.

NCC, which was established in 1990 and underwent a management buyout in 2000, operates in the fields of industrial catering and facilities management.

The company operates supermarkets, cafés and diet management services under the brand names Souq Planet, Lavanda and Slim’n Lite, respectively. It serves a wide range of customers in the oil & gas, construction, healthcare and government sectors, and is a market leader in most of its segments.

It has also expanded into Kuwait and more recently into Yemen.

NCC has grown its revenues more than nine-fold from 2006 to 2013, at a compounded annual growth rate of 36.2 per cent. The firm employs over 6,000 employees from 150 nationalities.

It currently claims over 40 contracts coupled with a back-log pipeline in excess of Dh1.1 billion.

“We expect the company to continue to capture market share in the expanding oil & gas onshore and offshore industrial catering market in Abu Dhabi, benefit from the continued increase in construction activity in the UAE, and replicate its successful business model across the GCC,” said Abdullah Mazrui, Chairman of TNI.

“From the beginning, our objective was to diversify our shareholder base and prepare the company for a potential listing over the medium term,” said Hany Abdel Noor, Managing Partner of NCC.

“We are using favourable market conditions to expand our operations geographically as well as to diversify our sector clientele. We are continuously striving to participate in the country’s growth areas such as the upcoming nuclear, railway and armed forces projects in line with the Abu Dhabi vision of 2030, in addition to expanding our presence in Dubai ahead of the Expo 2020,” said Tarek el Goweiny, Group CEO.

TNI and its partners have affirmed their support of NCC through the upcoming growth phase, which may include organic or inorganic growth opportunities to further develop the business.