Silver Chef: $500 million for Canadian hospitality businesses

VANCOUVER — Silver Chef, a leading dedicated hospitality funding partner, recently announced $500 million for Canadian hospitality businesses, to help them purchase the equipment they need to achieve their potential over the next five years.

Dubbed “Let's Make it Happen,” the
$500 million investment is open to all Canadian hospitality businesses,
including hotels, restaurants, coffee shops, pubs, clubs and franchises. This
financing can be used to purchase new and used equipment, through Silver Chef’s flexible Rent-Try-Buy model, which allows businesses to try before they buy equipment.

This
program allows hospitality operators to rent the right equipment without having
to commit to large amounts of capital upfront, allowing them to grow their
business. Along with financing, Silver Chef provides educational resources to businesses to support their growth. The majority of the equipment is purchased from their dealer network, and the dealers and manufacturers provide maintenance.

“Ultimately we would like to be available to the hospitality industry as a whole, a broad range of companies from cafes, restaurants and hotels to breweries,” Robert
Phelps, president, Silver Chef Canada, told Canadian Lodging News. “Size-wise, small and medium size businesses form the majority of our customer base. Hotel customers include the Opus Hotel in Yaletown [Vancouver], the Four Seasons and the Chaplin Hotel in Chaplin, Sask.”

Phelps hails from Australia, where the company has been operating for 30-plus years. Silver Chef has well-developed business in Australia and New Zealand with 28,000 clients. The next phase of growth is the Canadian market, which already numbers 2,000 businesses..

Silver Chef has a head office in Vancouver, which deals with customer service, marketing, collections, finance and IT, plus teams in Toronto, Alberta and Quebec. The company has strategic partners in Canada including Restaurants Canada and the Canadian Franchise Association.

“Forecasts
from Restaurants Canada, indicate how higher operating costs and a slowdown in
consumer spending will impact the hospitality industry this year. At a time
when many Canadian hospitality businesses are facing significant challenges,
Silver Chef is here to offer support to small
and medium-sized businesses every step of the way,” said Phelps.

This
financing is being raised through global investment. Hospitality businesses can
learn more about this initiative or apply for funding by visiting silverchef.ca/makeithappen.

“A key part of Silver Chef's purpose is how we utilize profits for good,” said Phelps. The company participates in Opportunity International, an initiative that has already helped one million people out of poverty, and plans to raise that number to 1.5 million by 2020. Silver Chef, as part of the Silver Chef group – became a Certified B Corporation in 2015. B Corps are a type of company that uses the power of business to solve social and environmental problems.