Foodservice company Compass Group UK & Ireland has secured a seven-year contract to provide food and beverage services for more than 80,000 Heathrow airport employees.

The service will be offered under a newly created workplace catering brand, Social at Heathrow.

As agreed, Compass Group will also offer catering services throughout the third runway expansion project, serving the construction teams working on the development.

Social at Heathrow will also carry out a multi-million-pound upgrade of 11 restaurants this year.

The programme includes the introduction of new technology such as smart vending solutions and kiosk-based ordering, aimed at streamlining service and speeding up transactions for employees.

Refurbishment work is scheduled to begin in April.

Compass UK & Ireland CEO Robin Mills said: “We’re delighted to have secured a partnership with Heathrow and to launch Social at Heathrow.

“This fantastic new offer will see us invest in a restaurant transformation programme and introduce a new food offer. Our teams will continue to put the customer experience at the heart of all they do.”

Social at Heathrow will also contribute to Heathrow’s Connecting People and Planet sustainability strategy.

It plans to work on a food waste management initiative in Terminal 5 and a returnable cups scheme at the airport’s headquarters.

Social at Heathrow account director Claire Eldaadaa said: “Working with Team Heathrow is a true partnership and one with a common goal: to ensure our teams, customers and clients have the very best experience that they can, whether they are grabbing a quick coffee or joining us for a meal.”