SSP has secured a major new agreement to run over 30 food and beverage outlets at Oslo Airport. The five year deal means the company will remain the sole F&B operator airside and on the landside departure level.

SSP will invest approximately GBP8m ($13m) in the new development – GBP6m ($9.8m) of which will be initial capital expenditure. The new and refurbished units are scheduled to open between November of this year and March 2012. 

As part of the deal, SSP will be introducing a number of the world’s most popular and prestigious brands, including its own award winning Le Grand Comptoir brasserie, to the Norwegian market in an impressive line up to be announced shortly. 

Several of the company’s successful international own brands already operating at the airport will remain. 

BRANDS THAT WILL REMAIN
These include Upper Crust, a firm favourite at Oslo airport, which boasts the world’s two largest outlets of the popular bakery brand; the casual Salmon House Seafood Bar where first class Norwegian seafood may be enjoyed with a selection of fine wines; the leading sports bar O’Learys, offering good food in a relaxed and entertaining environment; and tapas outlet Sinnataggen, serving a stylish menu in an intimate lounge-style atmosphere. 

The company’s eye-catching, free-flow Monolitten restaurant – specially created for Oslo and named after an iconic sculpture in the capital’s Vigeland Park – will also continue to trade. In addition, SSP will continue to run two lounges and a staff cafe for flight crews. 

The collection of bars and restaurants will be complemented by SSP’s successful convenience store Point, created with the specific needs of the travelling consumer in mind. A number of these outlets will be refurbished as part of the redevelopment of the terminal.

New insights research into the needs and behaviour of passengers at Oslo have helped shape SSP’s selection of brands – before the company submitted its tender proposal, it conducted detailed research into how each of the brands would meet the specific requirements of passengers at each location. 

CONTRACT WON ON MERIT
According to Espen Ettre, Director of Business Development and Real Estate at Oslo Airport, it was the company’s strong brand portfolio, coupled with the success of its current operations at the airport that were instrumental in securing the deal.

“SSP offered an outstanding range of bars, cafes and restaurants that are ideally suited to our passengers here at Oslo,” he said. 

“They really understand the travelling consumer and how to operate within the travel environment. The local management team is a strong one and we’re confident that SSP Norway will continue to meet the high expectations of our customers.”

Commenting on the new deal, Morten Solberg Nilsen, Managing Director of SSP Norway, said he was delighted that SSP’s relationship with Oslo Airport would continue: “Oslo is of course one of Europe’s most important airports and we’re very pleased to be playing a part in this major development project which will double the retail space at the airport by 2017. 

UNDERSCORING CREDENTIALS
“We’re looking forward to working in partnership with the airport and making a significant contribution towards helping them achieve their goal of becoming the best airport in Europe. This prestigious and significant contract win enables us to consolidate our business here in Scandinavia, and underscores our credentials as The Food Travel Experts.”

Passenger numbers at the airport are forecast to rise from 19m in 2010 to 22m in 2012. As a consequence, SSP expects the number of people it employs at the airport to rise from the current level of 700 to 800 by the end of next year.