Hutchesons’ Grammar School

Hutchesons Grammar School

Case study

Because of our continual questioning of our contract catering companies unit food prices, we decided to use the services of an independent catering consultant to provide an impartial overview of our contractor’s purchasing power. We therefore chose the Balance Partnership.

Their association with Hutchesons’ Educational Trust commenced with an in-depth evaluation of our contractor’s purchasing ability, following which they identified savings in the School’s food and vending equipment costs. Following a review of costs and value for money evaluation of our catering investment, we then asked Balance to review our position with the School’s contract caterer and provide cost effective options for the School to consider with regard to its longer term catering objectives.

Balance Partnership’s post evaluation report highlighted the positive and negative aspects of contractor versus In-house purchasing and following a number of meetings with all parties, the School opted to take its catering services in-house. Because of the Balance Partnership’s in-depth experience in dealing with these issues, we found that we were able to make conclusive decisions based on their financial projections and recommendations.

We further used Balance’s services to assist us with the recruitment of our new catering manager and the integration of their stock control system which was funded by the Balance Partnership as part of their self-funding fee package.

Client's Comments

We found the Balance Partnership to be a very easy, hands-on professional company to deal with and because of their vast operational knowledge they saved us much valuable time in the decision-making process. Their ability to get to the heart of potential problems quickly and efficiently meant that we capitalised on all areas of cost improvements promptly. They continue to provide ongoing monitoring support to the School, as required.
Ethna Doig, Assistant Bursar