Catering Concessions

The Royal Parks Agency provides refreshments for park visitors by granting licences to suitable companies to run catering outlets in the parks. Licence lengths vary but may be granted for periods up to eight years, depending on the amount of business the park generates and the level of investment required from the caterer.

We expect our caterers to provide a range of good quality refreshments to park visitors at reasonable prices. Opening hours vary according to the time of the year and the opening hours of the Parks.

There are two kinds of catering outlets in the Royal Parks:

• cafeterias and restaurants in permanent buildings, and
• mobile outlets / kiosks.

Cafés and restaurants are buildings in the park, which have been built as, or adapted for use as, cafés or restaurants.

We will require the caterer to make a substantial investment in refurbishing the premises to a standard and in a manner acceptable to the Agency.

Mobile outlets might be either trailers, pedal cycles or semi-permanent kiosks. We require our caterers to purchase and maintain the mobiles and to decorate them in a manner acceptable to the Agency. Caterers would be expected to run a number of mobiles in a park - we do not currently award licences for individual mobiles.

Events Catering

Catering for events is managed by the event organiser in the case of large events or by the concessionaires currently operating in the relevant Park.

How the licences are awarded

When an old licence is nearing expiry, the Royal Parks Agency will advertise in the trade press, on The Royal Parks website and/or the Official Journal of the European Community as appropriate, inviting expressions of interest from caterers wishing to tender for the new concession.

All those who express an interest will be considered, and then a selection will be invited to tender. We do not guarantee that all who express an interest will be invited to tender.

For further information

If you want further information about concessions in the parks, please contact Michelle Jenkins, Head of Leisure & Business Development, at the following address:

The Royal Parks
The Old Police House,
Hyde Park,
London W2 2UH
Tel: 020 7298 2030
Fax: 020 7298 2005
E-mail: mjenkins@royalparks.gsi.gov.uk