The National Investor (TNI), a regional investment banking group, led a consortium of Abu Dhabi-based investors in the acquisition of a 50 per cent equity stake in National Catering Company (NCC), a top industrial catering and facility management business in the UAE.

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, which is primarily based in Abu Dhabi and Northern Emirates, also operates supermarkets, cafes and diet management services under the brand names Souq Planet, Lavanda and Slim’n Lite, respectively.

The company also operates Al Raha International Integrated Facilities Management, a joint venture partnership with Aldar PJSC, to provide catering and facilities management services for the Al Raha and Yas Island developments. NCC has also expanded into Kuwait and more recently 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 company now serves 25 million man-days per year across its business units. Today, NCC employs over 6,000 employees from 150 nationalities.

Over the years, the company has consistently generated value to its shareholders. With the long term nature of its contracts, senior management’s guidance and ability to deliver on the company’s obligations, NCC boasts over 40 contracts in hand today coupled with a back-log pipeline in excess of Dh1.1 billion ($299 million).

“We expect the company to continue to capture market share in the expanding oil and 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. We are extremely pleased with the outcome of the transaction, and look forward to working together with TNI and our esteemed partners to take the company to greater heights,” 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.

“This is a unique transaction for TNI and NCC, in as much as we have brought together a like-minded set of partners which can help extract synergies for the business in the long term. We hope these efforts will culminate into a listing on the stock market in the medium term,” continued Yasser Geissah, CEO of TNI. – TradeArabia News Service