With the purchase, 4Service takes with it Dugurd’s 200 employees and customers such as the National Museum, Finn.no and Braathen Eiendom.
The purchase marks an increased focus on staff restaurants in Norway for 4Service. Dugurd has positioned itself as a quality brand within canteen operations, and was started and built up by Astrid Roppen before two years ago it became part of Eik Serving.
– We know Dugurd and their concept well and have been impressed by what they have built up in recent years. At 4Service, we are keen to develop strong brands and concepts, and Dugurd will fit very well into our portfolio. Together, we will open up a larger part of the market for staff restaurants for those customers who want solutions of the highest quality, says Trine Holmen-Løkken, division director for Food & Facilities at 4Service.
– Dugurd joined EIK Servering in connection with the acquisition of the Lava restaurant group. We are a buy and build case within bars and restaurants. It was therefore natural for us to see if we could find a suitable home for Dugurd, as canteens are not part of our core business. Now we can use the capital from the sale for further growth and new acquisitions, says chairman of EIK Servering, Erlend Karlseng.
Founder and co-owner of Dugurd, Astrid Roppen, will continue to be involved and, together with Holmen-Løkken, will facilitate a good integration of the two companies’ operations, where the brand name Dugurd will remain.
– Through a number of good conversations, it became clear early on that Dugurd and 4Service will be a very good match. Although we are different in size, we have both built companies on the same values and with a clear culture of improvement at the bottom. 4Service is known for attracting good brands with various canteen concepts, and can show impressive growth. We see that our concept fits very well into the portfolio of canteen businesses, and Dugurd will therefore find a natural and important place in this portfolio. There are great opportunities for us in 4Service’s strategy for further growth and development, and we would like to be a part of this journey, says Roppen.
While Dugurd has 200 employees and clients such as the National Museum, Finn.no and Braathen Eiendom, 4Service is a giant player with business areas such as accommodation and facility services, with a total of 6,000 employees. 4Service has concepts such as De tre stue, Ekre and Søtt + Salt within staff restaurants.
– In recent years, Dugurd has delivered dining experiences of the highest quality under the slogan “Every single day is unique”. It’s an attitude we recognize well. Our aim is always to create a breather during the working day with tasty, inspiring and energy-rich food. Now we look forward to getting started with the integration and to learning from each other’s experiences, says Holmen-Løkken.
