Lagardère Travel Retail wins major Food and Beverage concession in Abu Dhabi airport

Lagardère Capital, a Joint Venture between Lagardère Travel Retail and Abu Dhabi Capital Group has been awarded the concessionaire contracts to operate nine Food and Beverage units at the new Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) in Abu Dhabi International Airport.

Following a highly competitive tendering process conducted by Abu Dhabi Airports, the contract will provide Lagardère Capital with the opportunity to operate nine Food & Beverage units in the new airport terminal. The 2,388 sqm of space to be operated by Lagardère Capital will be spread across four units located in the main departure halls (landside and airside) and five units at the piers.

In addition to operating franchised brands, Lagardère Capital will operate owned brands, and tailor-made concepts created especially for Abu Dhabi Airport. This diversity of concepts will allow Lagardère Capital to meet the demands of a wide range of travelers, both in terms of taste but also in terms of service requirements:  table service will be available, as well as take-away food, or simply coffee.

When complete, the MTB will, jointly with the existing teminals at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH), serve the increasing number of passengers who fly through the UAE capital each year. . In 2015, a record 23.3 million passengers used AUH as their origin, destination, or transit point.

Commenting on this award, H.E. Eng. Mohamed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Chief Executive Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports said: “The F&B offering at the Midfield Terminal Building will challenge the very perception of F&B retailing in an airport environment thus far and will set the benchmark for dining concepts moving forward. Bearing in mind the wide demographic that we will be catering to, we are thrilled with the pioneering, avant-garde approaches that we have been able to gather together under one roof.”

​​“Lagardère Capital is honored to have been selected by Abu Dhabi Airports as one of the Food & Beverage operators for the Midfield Terminal Complex in Abu Dhabi” said Jassim Alseddiqi, Board Member of Abu Dhabi Capital Group. “We have created a bespoke vision for Abu Dhabi Airports: “Bringing Abu Dhabi to the World”. Our mission for the Food & Beverage concession will be to enable passengers using the Midfield Terminal Building to discover world-class hospitality by delivering a memorable foodservice experience consisting of tailor-made Emirati concepts, partnerships with celebrity chefs as well as world renowned brands.”

Dag Rasmussen, Chairman and CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail

stated: “Lagardère Capital is extremely proud to be awarded a significant part of the Midfield Terminal Building Food & Beverages concession. This award is a mark of confidence from Abu Dhabi Airports and a proof of the success of our development strategy in Abu Dhabi, originally in Duty Free and as of today in Food and Beverages. It is also a proof of the professionalism of our partners, who took a very active part in this achievement.”