Gatwick Opens Largest-Ever F&B Tender: 3,800sqm Across Six Units

London Gatwick has opened its largest-ever F&B tender, inviting bids on six food and beverage units covering more than 3,800 square metres across its South and North terminals, with head of retail Stephane Geffroy calling it a chance for operators to sit “at the heart of one of the UK’s most important airports”. The tender matters to any concession operator weighing where to deploy capital next: this is one of the largest single blocks of airport hospitality space to come to market in the UK this year, and it lands as Gatwick’s ownership signals a multi-decade growth story behind it.

The six units split five ways in the South Terminal and one landmark pub site in the North Terminal. Bids close at midday on 10 November 2026, and operators can pitch for individual units or bundle several into a single portfolio proposal, a structure that suits both independent brands chasing one site and larger groups looking to consolidate a terminal-wide footprint.

What is actually on offer

Source: London Gatwick tender release, 16 September 2026.

The North Terminal pub unit alone, at 1,084sqm, is larger than most standalone airport restaurants and will be the single most valuable prize in the package for operators chasing footfall on the busier of Gatwick’s two terminals. The four South Terminal quick-service sites range from 309sqm to 790sqm, giving smaller and mid-sized brands a realistic entry point without needing the balance sheet for the flagship pub units.

Why Gatwick is doing this now

Gatwick serves more than 230 destinations and is the UK’s second busiest airport. The airport frames the tender against its recently approved Northern Runway Programme, the privately financed expansion that cleared its final legal challenge in August 2026 and is intended to lift capacity to up to 80 million passengers a year by bringing the existing Northern Runway into routine use alongside the main runway.

That capital programme is the real driver behind the timing, and it puts Gatwick alongside the other large, government- and investor-backed airport expansions tracked in Airport Business Magazine’s roundup of the biggest airport capital programmes of 2026-27: wherever an airport is spending on capacity, concession space follows.

What it means for operators

For F&B brands and concession groups, the calculus is straightforward: this is a rare chance to secure long-lease, high-footfall space at a UK airport that is contractually committed to growing its passenger base for the next decade, rather than defending it. Operators weighing whether to bid alone or through a larger concession partner should measure Gatwick’s terms against the contract models set out in Airport Business Magazine’s comparison of travel retail concession operators, which lays out how scale and category shape what airports typically ask for.

The move also sits inside a wider pattern of concession expansion and leadership change this year, from Lagardère’s steady build-out of its Saudi restaurant portfolio to SSP Group’s recent strategy chief appointment, both signs that airport food and beverage groups are repositioning for a period of sustained bidding activity across multiple airports at once.

The practical takeaway: operators with the balance sheet and brand fit should contact Gatwick’s commercial team directly at retail@gatwickairport.com well before the 10 November deadline, decide early whether to bid single-unit or portfolio, and weigh the 1,084sqm North Terminal pub site against the smaller South Terminal quick-service units based on capital available rather than ambition alone.