WHO WE ARE

Freemans Event Partners is an award-winning event provider, enabling the UK and Europe’s most prestigious venues and stadia to deliver outstanding fan and spectator experiences.

OUR HISTORY

Established in 1975 by Stephen Freeman Senior, the family-owned company has grown from a single fish & chips outlet into a unique multi-service event provider, partnering with some of Europe’s most recognised and iconic events, venues, and brands.

With roots dating back to 1935, the knowledge and values passed down through generations continue to inspire our teams, who remain driven by the same vision, determination, and commitment embodied by Stephen Senior when he set up the business as it is today nearly 50 years ago.

OUR SOLUTIONS

Our Timeline

  • 1935

    First Fish & Chips Van

    Old time fish & chips van first operated at Neath fair. Freemans Event Partners later purchased this company to start supporting events
  • 1975

    Business Established

    Freemans Event Partners established operations at numerous high-profile UK events
  • 1982

    First Event at Silverstone

    First time operating at Silverstone race track and still there 40 years later
  • 1986

    Queen Concert at Knebworth

    Operating at the famous Queen concert at Knebworth
  • 1990

    Fleet Expanded to 15

    Expanded fleet to over 15 outlets to cover a wider demographic of customers & clients
  • 2002

    Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee

    Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee celebrations held in the Royal Parks
  • 2005

    Head Office Established in Gloucester

    Move to new purpose-built facilities at Head Office and Warehouse in Gloucester
  • 2010

    The Pied Piper Appeal

    The Pied Piper Appeal becomes our nominated charity
  • 2012

    London 2012 Olympics

    Operated at the London Olympics & Paralympics at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Wembley Stadium and Horse Guards Parade
  • 2014

    Rugby World Cup

    Takeover of the complete public food & beverage catering services at Twickenham Stadium and delivery of the Rugby World Cup at the Host Venue
  • 2016

    Freemans Event Partners

    Stephen Freeman Catering (SFC) becomes Freemans Event Partners
  • 2018

    Ryder Cup

    Operated at the Ryder Cup Le Golf National in Paris, France
  • 2018

    First Semi-Permanent Outlet

    Union15 Bar & Grill, the first semi-permanent food retail outlet launches at Twickenham Stadium
  • 2018

    Twickenham Renewal

    Agreement renewal between Twickenham Experience Ltd and Freemans Event Partners to manage 40+ food and beverage outlets serving 2 million customers per year
  • 2019

    Silverstone Renewal

    Agreement renewal between Silverstone Circuits Ltd and Freemans Event Partners to provide food-to-go to over 1 million visitors at the Home of British Motor Racing
  • 2019

    Major League Baseball

    First Major League Baseball game ever to be played in Europe at London Stadium
  • 2021

    Harry Potter

    Creating a bespoke experiential Food & Beverage concept at Harry Potter: A Forbidden Forest Experience
  • 2022

    Birmingham 2022

    Multi-service solution delivered at Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games
  • 2023

    Ryder Cup

    Provided outstanding multi-service solutions at the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, Italy
  • 2024

    Paris Olympics

    Operating at the Paris Olympics at Le Golf National. Purpose-built Costa Coffee outlets deployed across key venues at the Olympics and Paralympics.
  • 2024

    Launch of the Food Village

    Launch of the first self-checkout retail concept ‘The Food Village’ at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

OUR EXECUTIVE TEAM

  • STEPHEN FREEMAN
    Executive Chairman
  • MATT LUSCOMBE
    Chief Executive Officer
  • NATASHA THIEBAUT
    Chief Commercial Officer
  • LEE DAVIES
    Operations Director
  • JOE THORNEWILL
    HR Director

STEPHEN FREEMAN

Executive Chairman
Since being appointed Chief Executive Officer in 2015, Stephen has developed Freemans Event Partners into a major, multi-service event solutions partner, doubling the company’s size in under a decade, whilst operating at more than 650 events and reaching in excess of 25 million people per year. Stephen has driven innovation and empowered growth throughout Freemans Event Partners, taking it from a conventional food and beverage service provider to a multi-faceted event partner. The business structure consists of a fully bespoke food and beverage solution, including tailored infrastructure and build projects, end-to-end PCI compliant payment services powered by FEP-Pay, an AA-graded BRCGS accredited foodservice solution and a commercial partnerships arm of the business delivering immersive activations for global brands such as Moët & Chandon, Coca-Cola, Nestlé and American Express. Under Stephen’s stewardship, the business has built long-term partnerships with the most prestigious stadia and venues in the world, including Silverstone Circuit, Twickenham Stadium, Murrayfield, London Stadium, Lord’s Cricket Ground and Wembley Stadium. Through these venue associations, the business has been transforming the fan and spectator experience at world-class events, including the Formula One and Moto GP British Grand Prix, the Ryder Cup and Olympic Games, the Cheltenham Races, Six Nations, the Badminton Horse Trials as well as the award-winning Major League Baseball World Tour London Series and the Taylor Swift Eras tour. Freemans Event Partners won the prestigious Fan Experience award for its outstanding delivery of the MLB World Tour London Series at the 2024 Stadium Business Awards and in 2023 Stephen Freeman was named Senior Executive of the Year at the Contract Catering Awards.

MATT LUSCOMBE

Chief Executive Officer

NATASHA THIEBAUT

Chief Commercial Officer
Natasha is an expert in venue commercialisation. She has spent her 25-year career creating high functioning sales and marketing operations for sports and entertainment venues, defining winning strategies to maximise revenues from premium seating, partnerships, catering and ticketing. Previously, Vice-President of IMG’s Stadium Division, Natasha has worked in a wide range of international sports and entertainment environments including multi-purpose arenas, racecourses, world-famous stadiums such as Wembley, the Maracana and Lusail Stadium and on major events including the UEFA European Championships.

LEE DAVIES

Operations Director
Lee’s journey with Freemans Event Partners spans over two decades. Before joining the business as an Event Manager in 2009, Lee worked with the Freemans family for over 10 years. He has since held a number of roles in the company from Account Manager and Head of Operations to Events Director and Concessions Director.

JOE THORNEWILL

HR Director

OUR BOARD

  • CHRIS SMART
    Finance Director
  • STEPHEN POOLE
    FEP PAY Director
  • LISA PERKINS
    Commercial Partnerships Director
  • TIM HOBBS
    Director of Wholesale & FMCG Retail
  • JUSTINE TOMMEY
    Marketing Director
  • JACOB DENTON
    Head of F&B Venue Experience
  • LUKE BUCKLE
    Head of Food & Innovation
  • JAMIE COLEMAN
    Head of F&B Event Projects and Experiences

CHRIS SMART

Finance Director

STEPHEN POOLE

FEP PAY Director
Payments has always been a passion of Stephen's and he has been leading the FEP PAY business since 2014. FEP PAY is a single payment partner servicing the retail, hospitality and event industries. It thrives on delivering an exceptional customer experience in any setting, whether on the go in high footfall areas such as airports, restaurants and events or online. Their mission is to join up the customer journey and offer a consistent brand experience throughout. They are uniquely positioned to help unlock data and offer a personalised experience which ultimately increases our clients' revenue.

LISA PERKINS

Commercial Partnerships Director
Lisa joined Freemans Event Partners in 2018 and has over 20 years’ experience in leading large teams to deliver all aspects of brand engagement from experiential campaigns, roadshow sampling tours, trade and consumer exhibitions, NPD campaigns and in-store field marketing demonstrations in large shopping centres. Throughout her career, Lisa has been involved in a number of high-profile events including the 2012 London Olympics, the Formula One Grand Prix as well as the 2014 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. Lisa’s expertise lies in bringing FMCG brands to life and has worked with prestigious clients and global household names such as Haagen-Daz, Haribo, Philips and Dyson to name a few.

TIM HOBBS

Director of Wholesale & FMCG Retail
Tim’s career in wholesale and procurement spans an impressive thirty years. Starting at Sainsbury’s in 1994, Tim has worked in a number of sales and procurement roles for international FMCG and start-up businesses across the globe. Tim’s expertise lies in the delivery of transformational programmes across commercial, operational and back-office aspects of an enterprise through effective P&L, KPI and people management skills, leading from shop floor to board. Over the years, Tim has worked across most FMCG categories but his passion has always been within the Wine & Spirits industry where he held senior roles for major companies such as Hardy’s Wine, Enotria and Accolade Wines. Tim joined Freemans Event Partners in 2021.

JUSTINE TOMMEY

Marketing Director
Justine Tommey joined Freemans Event Partners in 2019 to take on the management of the marketing operations. Over the years, Justine has built the marketing and in-house design department into a highly performing function supporting the growth of the brand profile and firmly establishing its awareness as a globally recognised multi-service event operation. During her tenure, the business has secured several accolades and industry award wins at events including the Contract Catering Awards, The Stadium Business Awards, BOCA and the FWD Gold Medal awards. In her role, Justine also oversees marketing operations across an international event calendar, a key driver for fan engagement as well as food & beverage sales. Previously, Justine has developed strategies and marketing campaigns for international brands including Guinness World Records, Dickies and the BBC. A multilingual marketer, Justine has led company rebrands, consumer research programmes, campaign planning across the EMEA and APAC regions. To date the Freemans Event Partners’ marketing team has delivered outstanding spectator communications and influencer activations at the British Grand Prix, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the NFL, Major League Baseball London Series, the Ryder Cup, the Six Nations at Allianz Stadium and the Ashes at MCC’s Lord’s Cricket Ground.

JACOB DENTON

Head of F&B Venue Experience

LUKE BUCKLE

Head of Food & Innovation

JAMIE COLEMAN

Head of F&B Event Projects and Experiences

Freemans Moves Towards
Net Zero

We are committed to reducing our impact on the environment. Through our ‘Freemans Event Partners Moves Towards Net Zero’ strategy, we are making meaningful changes throughout our business operations.

OUR
CHARITY INITIATIVES 

Our culture fosters widespread involvement in charitable endeavours. We work with FareShare UK to donate surplus stock from our Foodservice division providing enough food for almost a million meals per week for vulnerable people. Through this initiative, our food surplus reaches charities across the UK, including school breakfast clubs, older people’s lunch clubs, homeless shelters and community cafes.

THE PIED PIPER APPEAL

We are proud of our long-term partnership with our nominated charity The Pied Piper Appeal. Over two decades our fundraising efforts have contributed to buying new medical equipment for children needing hospital care in Gloucestershire. In the last two years alone, we have raised £53,000 has helped fund a range of equipment and initiatives including state-of-the-art machines and artwork in the paediatric department at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital.

“WE HAVE ALWAYS TREASURED OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FREEMANS EVENT PARTNERS AS WE KNOW THAT CHILDREN ARE AS IMPORTANT TO THEM AS THEY ARE TO US IN OUR COUNTY AND WANT TO MAKE THE CARE THEY RECEIVE HERE, IN GLOUCESTERSHIRE AS GOOD AS IT POSSIBLY CAN BE.”
NICK BROADY
The Chair of the Pied Piper Appeal

DEVELOPING

OUR PEOPLE

Our people are our most important asset and our events would not go on without them. We strive to continuously develop and train our workforce. We recognise the dynamic nature of the events industry and the ever-changing skillset required for success. From assisting our team in achieving their forklift and food safety certifications, to coaching and leadership courses, everyone is included in our programme.

LIFE AT FREEMANS

AWARDS & ACCREDITATIONS

Our globally recognised accreditations are a testament to our world-class delivery including achieving AA BRGCS for over a decade and PCI DSS Level 1 Service Provider certification. We have won and been nominated for a range of industry-wide awards, most recently being recognised for the ‘Best Fan Experience’ at the Stadium Business Awards for our outstanding delivery at MLB World Tour: London Series at London Stadium.

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