Compass fattens on America lift

Strong demand from North America helped pre-tax profits at Compass, the world's biggest caterer, rise 8 per cent to £611m for the six months to April.

But Compass, which sells thousands of strawberries each summer at Wimbledon and serves 4 billion meals a year, said demand in Europe and Japan had been down. Richard Cousins, its chief executive, said: "Compass has started the year well."