London Gatwick Airport has initiated a major food and beverage tender covering six high-volume restaurant and pub units across approximately 3,800 square metres of commercial space in its North and South terminals.
Combined, the units currently deliver approximately £65 million (US$88 million) in annual turnover. The concession opportunities encompass spaces currently occupied by leading travel and high-street hospitality brands, including Wetherspoon, PizzaExpress, wagamama, Pret A Manger, and Itsu.
The procurement process opens as the airport, operated as a partnership between VINCI Airports and Global Infrastructure Partners, prepares for a substantial increase in passenger throughput following the formal planning approval of its Northern Runway Programme alongside an existing £1.9 billion capital investment scheme.
Concession Packages and Units
The tender divides the 3,800 square metres of airside hospitality space across five restaurant and pub footprints in the South Terminal and a flagship hospitality site in the North Terminal:
South Terminal Casual Dining: Four distinct restaurant spaces spanning footprints of 309 square metres, 320 square metres, 547 square metres, and 790 square metres.
South Terminal Pub Unit: A dedicated airside bar and pub footprint covering 647 square metres.
North Terminal Landmark Pub: A large-scale bar and casual dining asset encompassing 1,203 square metres.
The commercial formats are targeted primarily toward fast-casual operations that combine seated dining capacity with grab-and-go capabilities. Gatwick management highlighted that packaging solutions should accommodate aircraft travel, allowing passengers to take orders on board flights.
Commercial Terms and Phased Timelines
The procurement schedule sets out a structured bidding and evaluation timeframe leading up to trading commencement in 2028:
Submission Deadline: Bids must be submitted by 10 November 2026.
Evaluation Phase: Candidate selection and commercial evaluations will proceed into early 2027.
Contract Duration: Standard concession contracts will run for seven years, with the larger 1,203-square-metre North Terminal pub unit potentially carrying an extended term to balance capital expenditure requirements linked to airport expansion works.
Commercial Structure: Contracts will operate under a concession fee model linked to passenger traffic via a variable minimum guaranteed payment rather than a fixed sum.
Trading Handover: Winning operators are scheduled to commence trading operations across the six units from 2028.
Stephane Geffroy, Head of Retail at London Gatwick, stated that the airport is seeking commercial partners that align with its passenger-centric terminal investments, noting that the scale of the units requires operators capable of managing high-throughput service and diverse customer needs in a single location.
Expansion and Passenger Growth
The tender launch aligns with Gatwick's long-term infrastructure expansion following the planning approval of its Northern Runway Programme after an eight-year regulatory process.
Combined with Gatwick’s ongoing £1.9 billion capital investment programme, the second runway is projected to increase the airport’s annual passenger capacity from approximately 43 million travellers in 2025 to up to 80 million by the late 2030s.
Recent commercial openings across the airport estate have included UK travel-hub debuts for Gail's Bakery and Italian chocolate and gelato operator Venchi. Healthy fast-casual brand Tossed is scheduled to open in the North Terminal in October, while British drinks brand Fever-Tree is set to launch a dedicated bar in the South Terminal.
Digital Ordering and Diversity
Gatwick is prioritising technological integration and menu flexibility within the tender criteria to accommodate mixed travel parties and streamline terminal circulation.
Following terminal refurbishment projects designed to improve passenger flow and sightlines, the airport has implemented communal picnic seating clusters equipped with QR-code ordering, enabling travellers to order from multiple nearby concessions to a single table. The tender framework asks bidders to incorporate flow-management technology and multi-order mechanics to reduce queue times and optimise table capacity during peak flight departure banks.
Additionally, prospective partners must demonstrate alignment with Gatwick's Second Decade of Change sustainability roadmap, which commits the airport to achieving net-zero operational emissions by 2030. The tender parameters encourage the inclusion of regional food and drink producers, integrating with the airport's existing programme that features roughly 150 local product references across its retail and dining network.
