Mount Charles celebrates as it receives an award-winning cleaning services deal with NI Water.

Northern Ireland Water, a trademark of Northern Ireland Water Ltd, is a government-owned company that was set up in 2007 to provide all the water and wastewater services in Northern Ireland. NI Water supplies 560 million litres of clean water a day for almost 1.8 million people as well as treating 320 million litres of wastewater daily. Mount Charles promises that all its sites will receive a world-class service, provided by the Mount Charles Cleaning Team.

The MC team will provide cleaning services at around 29 of Northern Ireland Water’s sites, including their offices, depots, workshops, water/wastewater treatment works and publicly accessible sites.

Gavin Annon, Sales and Marketing Director at Mount Charles met with the team at NI and shared his thoughts on the win: “We are delighted to be awarded this business by NI Water and are committed to delivering social value in this contract, particularly in the areas of work progression and skills development, health and well-being and equality, diversity and inclusion.”

Ronan Larkin, Director of Finance, Regulation & Commercial at NI Water has warmly welcomed Mount Charles on board stating, “As we continue to adopt the new public procurement policy – scoring social value within public awarded contracts, NI Water is fully committed to working with suppliers to deliver their social value promises.”

Ronan added, “Mount Charles, like many other suppliers, have an amazing opportunity to embrace social value and make a lasting impact in the communities they operate and serve in and I look forward to the many initiatives that are delivered as part of this significant step change in public procurement.”

Mount Charles are very proud and excited to be working with this brand-new client. As a business, we are committed to supporting NI Water and all its sites.

#Greatservice #Greatpeople #Greatfuture

Mount Charles has won a catering services contract with Hyster-Yale Materials Handling, Inc, a leading, globally integrated full-line lift truck manufacturer.

The company has over 90 years of experience, with its success being the result of focusing on its clients’ needs and delivering tough lift trucks that move products efficiently and elevate the potential of its partners. With lifting capacities ranging from 2,000 to 105,000 pounds, Hyster lift trucks combine award-winning designs, industrial-strength components and high-tech manufacturing to deliver versatile and dependable solutions.

The deal will see #TeamMC provide food and beverage services to the factory’s 770 manufacturing staff on site. The staff there work in two shift patterns from 8.00am to 8.00pm with early closure on a Friday. In addition, there are 167 office staff operating on a hybrid working pattern where they are on-site two or three days per week. So the installation of ‘The Kitchen’ is a fantastic addition and will really support the staff during their shifts.

Mount Charles has been fostering strong relationships and catering partnerships with clients for years, providing the best possible service, so we are now extremely proud and excited to be working with this brand-new client. As a business, we are committed to supporting Hyster Yale and its staff.

We’ve just launched a new in-house restaurant within the factory. The signage and graphics were installed by Design + Display, our partners who we have been working with for years. ‘The Kitchen’, which is also installed in our Moy Park sites and a few others has a clean, contemporary look and feel with a relaxed and comfortable setting.

Some of our offerings include a range of drinks, and affordable hot meals during Breakfast, lunch and dinner service, served five days a week. Breakfast is a range of freshly baked pastries & Scones, Jambon, Sausage Rolls, Breakfast Baps as well as Granola Bars and Porridge. A range of hearty homemade meals such as stew, pies, lasagne and curries will be served at lunch and dinner, with Thursday being ‘fry day’. The late afternoon snack offering is pastries and sausage rolls as well as a made-to-order sandwich bar offering toasties and paninis.

Our marketing team visited the factory and were thrilled to meet the team and take some photographs of the finished design. As with all our clients, we highly value Hyster-Yale and will continue to provide a top-class service as we look forward to a bright future together.

Chris Annon, Sales Business Development Manager has shared his thoughts on the partnership:

“On first meeting with our contacts in Hyster it was very clear that MCG and Hyster have the same ethos within business, and now that we have been operating the contract this is nothing close to the truth. Hyster management and staff have all embraced MCG and we enjoy serving them daily. We look forward to a bright and successful future ahead.”

#Greatservice #Greatpeople #Greatfuture

Who were crowned the champions at the Great Mount Charles Bake Off 2022?

Read on to find out…

On Wednesday 23^rd November 2022, our company Headquarters at Annon House was filled with smiles, laughter and the smell of delicious, sweet treats as we held our annual Great Mount Charles Bake Off.

We asked our colleagues to get involved in this company-wide challenge and bake something spectacular this year. We challenged them to create their ultimate showstoppers, and it’s safe to say they didn’t disappoint.

From Christmas cakes, cupcakes and brownies to rice crispy mountains, blondies and a range of festive traybakes, the judges were truly blown away by the entries. Every single showstopper was impressive and we saw fantastic engagement across our departments and wider catering sites.

The office canteen was covered in crumbs as we had a slightly messy, but super fun cake party on the top floor of Annon House at 3pm. Some of the creations we saw were absolutely beautiful and great-tasting. It was a really enjoyable afternoon for all.

Mount Charles would like to offer a massive thank you to everyone who took part and Congratulations to all the wonderful well-deserved winners below.

This year saw Edna Armstrong, three-time Star Baker for the past three years in a row, hand over the crown to our 2022 baking Queen Zhana Robinson. However, it was a very close call as Edna came in at a close second. Both contestants were triumphant as they received their prizes with smiles and gratitude.

The Department of Health team absolutely blew us away with their complete array of festive sweet treats and bakes along with the Belfast International Airport team, who created a spectacular BIA Northern Quarter-themed cake.

Annon House Winners:
1st Place – Zhana Robinson
2nd Place – Edna Armstrong

Remote Entry Winners:
1st place – DOH Team – Jill, Bianca, Renata, Paul
2nd place – Belfast International Airport – Megan Armstrong and Matthew Wheatley

Have a look at all our entries below:

#Greatservice #Greatpeople #Greatfuture

Trevor Annon, the Founder and Chairman of Mount Charles has placed in the Family Business Top 100, along with Gavin Annon, Sales & Marketing Director at Mount Charles.

The inaugural Family Business United ‘Family Business Top 100,’ recognises the exceptional contribution of individuals and their work within a family business. Both Trevor and Gavin have been recognised as inspirational leaders who have demonstrated their collective importance to our national economy with passion, drive and determination.

Trevor has been highly praised for his inspirational and unique management style, the work hard, play hard ethos he cultivates and the encouragement and belief he shows in each team member. This is what makes working for Mount Charles special. He is highly respected within the business by all his team members and many consider him not only a boss and mentor but a great friend.

Family Business Top 100 stated that It’s ‘Due to Trevor’s strategic vision and leadership, that Mount Charles continues to be a leader in its industry’. Trevor inspires all those around him and is committed to building upon his foundations with determination underpinned with core family values.

Throughout his career, especially during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, Trevor has been encouraged and inspired by two particular lines of poetry from his favourite poet, Seamus Heaney, “If we can winter this one out, we can summer anywhere.”

Gavin, who from a young age was very much involved in the family business, aided his father Trevor in making the business a success. He along with his siblings worked at weekends in some of the very first Mount Charles catering partnerships. Gavin pursued his career further within the business and is now the Sales and Marketing Director where his passion to achieve greater environmental and sustainable development of services is now a key priority within the business.

Gavin has not only made a huge impact on the business but engages more broadly in the wider family business community and is always happy to share his journey while helping his peers along the way. The Family Business Top 100 has described him as ‘Professional, driven and hugely impactful.’

Paul Andrews, Founder and CEO of Family Business United and Global Family Business Champion acknowledges that, “Family businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and often the unsung heroes too.  Family firms are significant contributors to the economy in terms of jobs provided, income generated and wealth created and behind each family firm are individuals driving them, making decisions and looking to the future.  Family firms take the long-term view and invest in their businesses and the communities in which they operate and we wanted to create the Family Business Top 100 to recognise outstanding individuals within these organisations and to shine a light on the people that are making a difference within the business and more broadly too.”

“What better way to celebrate the vibrancy of a sector than to highlight the people within family businesses, leading from the front, fulfilling a role as a steward for future generations, those developing sustainable practices and acting as innovators and agents of change, the next generation embarking on key initiatives that will drive the next stage in the family business journey and those that have delivered a lifetime of service and commitment to the family business.  Each and every one of them deserves to be recognised and celebrated. It is these individuals and the family firms they are associated with that is at the very heart of what we do – championing family firms across the whole of the UK and beyond.”

“The past few years have not been easy and pulling the Family Business Top 100 together has provided us all with the opportunity to celebrate the contribution of family firms and the significant impact that individuals within them make each and every day.  Family business matters and we are proud to celebrate and showcase 100 individuals who are truly deserving of their place in the inaugural report.  Congratulations to each and every one of them and their contribution to an exceptional body of family business talent,” concludes Paul.