Business Development Manager - Commercial Catering / Equipment & Service Solutions

Location: UK based with regular travel to prospective clients and one day-a week at-Bedfordshire head office

Salary: -60-75,000 base + Exceptional bonus + car + career opportunities

A genuine new-business role within an ambitious, growing organisation

HPR Executive is partnering with an established and ambitious organisation operating within the commercial catering and equipment solutions market to appoint a Business Development Manager as part of the continued development of its commercial function.

The business provides customers with a combination of equipment, project solutions and ongoing service and maintenance support, creating long-term partnerships rather than simply transactional product sales.

This is a genuine new business development role.

We are looking for someone who enjoys identifying opportunities, opening doors and developing relationships from the ground up. You will be responsible for creating and converting a high-quality pipeline of new customers across a range of sectors, including hospitality, hotels, food service, restaurants, care, leisure, stadia, facilities management and complex multi-site operators.

The role

Working as part of the commercial team, you will take ownership of developing new business across agreed target markets.

This is not about waiting for inbound opportunities. You will be expected to understand the market, identify where the strongest opportunities exist, map target organisations and create relationships with the people who influence and make purchasing decisions.

You will manage opportunities from initial identification through to proposal, commercial negotiation and close, ensuring that new business delivers both sustainable revenue and appropriate margin.

A critical part of the role will be selling the whole-life proposition. You will understand that securing the equipment or project sale is only part of the opportunity and will be confident positioning the associated service and maintenance contract as an integral part of the customer solution.

Key responsibilities

• Proactively generating and converting a high-quality pipeline of new customers through research, outreach, networking and market intelligence.
• Mapping target organisations and building relationships with decision-makers, influencers and procurement teams.
• Selling equipment and project solutions alongside service and maintenance contracts, with a focus on multi-site and framework opportunities.
• Leading bids, tenders and formal procurement processes.
• Developing commercially robust proposals that protect margin.
• Maintaining rigorous CRM discipline and accurate forecasting.
• Working closely with project, technical and service teams to ensure what''s sold can be delivered.

What we''re looking for

You don''t need to come from commercial catering. What''s essential is experience in a business that sells a physical product, equipment or capital solution alongside an ongoing service, maintenance or support contract. This could be capital equipment, HVAC, refrigeration, engineering services, facilities solutions, pest control, security or similar product-and-service environments.

We''re particularly interested in candidates who can demonstrate:

• A proven track record of originating and winning new B2B customers, rather than primarily managing inherited accounts.
• A strong understanding of recurring revenue, contract attachment and whole-life customer value.
• Genuine experience of formal tender processes, from qualification through to submission and award.
• Consultative, multi-stakeholder selling into complex or multi-site organisations.
• Commercial confidence around pricing, margin and negotiation.
• Strong pipeline management, qualification and forecasting discipline.

The person

You''ll enjoy the chase and be energised by opening doors and creating opportunities from scratch. You''ll know how to research a market and give a prospective customer a real reason to engage. You''ll also be commercially disciplined, understanding that good business development means winning profitable, deliverable business that grows into long-term relationships.

You''ll be educated to degree level or have equivalent experience, and you''ll need a full UK driving licence.