Investment

Burts Chips has invested £3M in a new high-speed potato frying line to meet export demand

Burts Chips invests £3M and creates new jobs

By Michael Stones

Burts Chips has boosted capacity by 20% at its Plymouth factory and created new jobs, after investing £3M in a new high-speed potato frying line to meet export demand for its products.

Mondelēz boss Glenn Caton urged to food and drink manufacturers to step up investment

Mondelēz boss urges food industry investment

By Noli Dinkovski

Food and drink manufacturers need to invest if they want to avoid “long-term productivity issues” faced by the UK economy in the run-up to Brexit, a boss at one of the world’s biggest confectionery companies has claimed.

Cake and bread maker Finsbury posted sales and profit growth in a ‘challenging’ market

Finsbury posts growth in ‘challenging’ market

By Gwen Ridler

Speciality bread and cake manufacturer Finsbury Food Group has grown profits and sales in its latest financial results, despite “current challenges facing the industry”.

Quorn Foods revealed plans to create more than 300 jobs in Teesside

Quorn’s £150M investment to create 300+ jobs

By Matt Atherton

Quorn Foods has invested £150M in its Billingham factory, creating more than 300 jobs over the next five years, the meat alternative manufacturer revealed on July 24.

Exports were one of the top growth opportunities for food and drink manufacturers

Food manufacturing opportunities revealed in EEF plan

By Matt Atherton

Food and drink manufacturers could increase growth by exporting to emerging markets, and by investing in innovation, according to a sector bulletin by EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, and Santander.

Star Feast Foods has invested £200k in its London operation. Steve Money (left) and Mohammed Khan (right)

Seafood firm in £200k London investment

By Gwen Ridler

Seafood supplier Star Feast Foods has invested £200,000 in its London operations, as it expands its trade and wholesale offering in the capital.

Real Good Food to invest £15.5M in its cake decorating and bakery subsidiaries

Real Good Food makes £15.5M investment

By Gwen Ridler

Baking ingredients supplier Real Good Food (RGF) is investing £15.5M to expand two of its subsidiaries in Liverpool and Wiltshire, after securing funds from a private investor.

Sainsbury's food division remains resilient, said group chief executive Mike Coupe

Sainsbury’s food is ‘resilient’ as profits fall

By Matt Atherton

Sainsbury’s food business remains resilient in a difficult market, the supermarket says, as the group’s full-year profits before tax fell 8.2% to £503M in the 12 months to March 11.

Polman: Unilever is to offload its spreads business and combine its food and beverages units

Unilever to put Spreads business up for sale

By Rick Pendrous

Unilever is to sell off or demerge its Spreads business and combine its Foods and Refreshment activities into one organisation based in the Netherlands, as a result of a structural review just completed.

Weetabix has revealed plans to invest £30M in its Northamptonshire factories

Weetabix invests £30M but warns of price rises

By Matt Atherton

Weetabix will invest £30M in its Northamptonshire factories to expand its UK and international brands, the company’s chief executive revealed, but also warned of price rises as the pound’s value falls.

Moy Park said 70 jobs were created from the £4M investment at its Ashbourne factory

Moy Park created 70 jobs from £4M investment

By Matt Atherton

Poultry processor Moy Park has confirmed 70 jobs were created from the completed £4M investment at its Ashbourne factory, which can now process more than 1M chickens every week.

Andy Underwood (left) with Alastair Macphie

Foodservice leads Macphie’s sales growth

By Rick Pendrous

Scottish bakery ingredients supplier Macphie has reported a 7% rise in sales to £47.6M in its financial results for the year to March 2016 released today (December 23).

Crisp entrepreneur Emily Wong was delighted to win the investment that will help her business grow

Emily Crisps wins investment for growth

By Rick Pendrous

Healthy snack brand Emily Crisps, which manufactures fruit and vegetable crisps, has sold a stake in its business to private equity firm Inverleith and investor club Hothouse Brands, in a move that will expand its range, marketing and distribution in...

Real Good Food posts sales growth despite a volatile market

Real Good Food sales grow despite volatile market

By Gwen Ridler

Real Good Food’s sales grew by 5% to £49M in the six months to September 30 2016, driven by the performance of its premium bakery division, the company revealed in its interim report.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the Autumn Statement on November 23

Manufacturers praise ‘pragmatic’ Autumn Statement

By Matt Atherton

Manufacturing organisations welcomed chancellor Philip Hammond’s first and last “pragmatic” Autumn Statement this week (November 23), but insisted that work still needs to be done to cut business rates.

'How can we get more kids into engineering?' asks Neutronic Technologies

Food sector needs more engineers urgently

By Rick Pendrous

Growing engineering skills shortages in UK food and drink manufacturing are threatening the ability of the sector to adapt to the ‘brave new world’ post the Brexit vote, industry experts have warned.

Bernard Matthews: unsecured creditors include £1.38M owed to the government

Bernard Matthews deal: potential supplier losses grow to £39M

By Noli Dinkovski

Bernard Matthews’ unsecured creditors amount to a combined total of £39M – and could increase yet further – in the wake of the pre-pack administration takeover by 2 Sisters boss Ranjit Boparan, according to a Work and Pensions Committee briefing published...

Vegetarian Express gains £6M investment

Vegetarian Express £5.6M deal to open delivery routes

By Matt Atherton

Plant-based foods supplier Vegetarian Express has appointed a former-Premier Foods chief operating officer (coo) Tim Kelly as its new chief executive, after a funding management company bought a controlling interest in the company for £5.6M.

Bernard Matthews jobs confirmed to be secure

2,000 Bernard Matthews jobs confirmed safe

By Matt Atherton

The new owner of Bernard Matthews – Boparan Private Office – confirmed to Unite the union that the jobs of its 2,000 workers are safe, following the takeover of the turkey business on September 20.

George Eustice visited Premier Foods's Ambrosia site

George Eustice visits renewed Ambrosia site

By Matt Atherton

Food and farming minister George Eustice visited Premier Foods’s Ambrosia Creamery in Devon on August 10, after the manufacturer invested more than £12M to refurbish the factory.