Compass chief executive Richard Cousins rejects secrecy claims

By RUPERT STEINER FOR THE DAILY MAIL
Updated:

The boss of Compass has dismissed allegations the catering giant failed to reveal to the government the extent of discounts earned from its food suppliers.

Compass boss Richard Cousins

Happy man: Chief executive Richard Cousins was 'not concerned' by an unnamed supplier's letter accusing Compass of a lack of transparency

Chief executive Richard Cousins, whose food group runs canteens in both the Ministries of Justice and Defence, told the Mail he was not concerned by a letter written to the Cabinet Office from an unnamed supplier accusing Compass of a lack of transparency.

Cousins said: 'I don't believe it's an issue.

'Like all retailers, which is essentially what we are, we buy in volume and we get volume related discounts.

'There's no difference between us and all the big supermarkets, of course we get rebates.

'The recent report relates to two contracts which expired last year, or the year before  -  we don't think it's an issue.

'We are not concerned  -  we think we are very transparent.'

Firms such as Compass (up 12p to 585.5p) are only allowed to make a certain amount of profit on headline contracts. The supplier alleged Compass supplemented this by asking food suppliers to provide discounts of up to 20pc, which it alleged was not declared.

The government has embarked on a sweeping efficiency drive to ensure contractors are providing cost effective services.

When Cousins joined the business four years ago it was a stock market dog but he has since turned it into a Footsie star.

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