Welcome Break, the motorway services operator, seems to be enjoying a new lease of life, having taken over the catering at the Eurotunnel terminal at Folkestone, and it is hoping to complete the double by securing the concession on the French side of the Channel. The Times

Rod McKie, Welcome Break’s chief executive, is also looking at pitching for concessions at airports, in the UK and overseas, although he dismisses any suggestion that the company is diversifying away from its core competency: ‘We believe we are the masters of the 20-minute dwell time,’ he said.

Ten years ago, as operations director of Pret A Manger, McKie was responsible for winning the original concession for the sandwich group.