Five units in Seville Airport have been agreed on a seven-year contract, including a new Caffè Ritazza | Photo credit: SSP Group

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SSP Group is continuing to grow its international travel concession business with new food and beverage contracts at airports in Spain. 

The UK-based operator, which manages around 2,800 food and beverage outlets at transport hubs across 36 countries, has announced a number of new contracts in Spain that will see the company operate a further eight units at airports in the south of the country.

A renewed contract with Seville Airport has extended the partnership until 2029 and will see a variety of food and beverage brands introduced across five new units, including US chain Starbucks, Ritazza, a SSP-owned Italian inspired espresso bar, and American sports bar O’Learys.

SSP has also retained its business at Granada Airport, where it will operate two new units. The partnership between SSP and the airport has been extended for a further five years and will result in the opening of Spain’s first Point convenience store, a SSP brand successful in Norway offering a coffee menu, as well as sandwiches, baguettes and pastries.

A new unit in Alicante Airport has also been agreed on a five year contract, which will feature a new Starbucks.

"With an immensely pent-up demand for leisure travel given the last two years, we are expecting hugely popular Easter and summer periods in holiday hot spots such as our locations in Spain and are excited to offer our guests a local experience wherever possible. We are also delighted to be continuing our partnership with Granada and to be operating our first SBUX unit at Alicante,” said Jeremy Fennell, CEO of Nordics and Continental Europe, SSP Group.

The contracts are SSP's the latest international business wins as the company continues its recovery from the pandemic and a consequential 90% drop in revenue in the months following the outbreak in 2020.

In recent months SSP group agreed a $200m contract to open 34 food & beverage outlets at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand, and a contract to operate five food & beverage concession stores throughout Huaguoshan International Airport, Lianyungang, China. The announcements followed a growing SSP footprint in Australia and a 10-year contract at Dublin Airport announced in 2020.

SSP Group operates its own café brands, such as Caffè Ritazza, Upper Crust and Camden Food Co., in addition to licensed brands including Starbucks, Pret A Manger, and Burger King. In Spain, SSP Group already operates units at Malaga Costa del Sol International Airport, Barcelona-El Prat Airport, Madrid Barajas Airport and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Airport.

Revenues for the company in 2021 were £834.2m ($1.1bn), a 41.8% drop on 2020 levels and 70.1% versus 2019.