1. Around Noon
May 2025 saw food-to-go manufacturer, Around Noon, open the doors to a new manufacturing facility in Slough, creating 200 jobs and increasing its manufacturing capacity by £50 million.
The factory stretches across 30,000 sq ft and is the group’s fifth manufacturing site in the UK and Ireland.
A number of ‘green’ features have been build into the site, including photovoltaic panels on the roof to provide electricity to the premises with any excess sent back into the network grid; energy efficient LED light fittings installed throughout; and SMART meters installed throughout to help improve operational efficiency.
The new site opening came two years after Around Noon expanded its London operations with the acquisition of The Soho Sandwich Company and its manufacturing facility in North London.
2. Geary’s Bakery
Geary’s Bakery which makes Jason’s Sourdough, opened a £36 million bespoke bakery in Leicester in June. The move doubled production capacity and created 380 jobs.
Over the past year, the brand has more than doubled its value and volumes, according to The Grocer’s Top Products report. This is in part a result of the rise of fermented foods driven by a growing awareness around gut health.
The bakery brand also recently entered the wholesale market for the first time via Booker with a view to bring its Great White and Superb Sprouted Grain loaves to trade customers.
3. Princes
The company purchased the Royal Liver Building in Liverpool, where it has been based as a tenant since 1982, for £60 million; and the Symington’s Cross Green facility in Leeds for £23 million.
Princes, which has been part of the NewPrinces Group (formerly Newlat Food) since 2024, said that the investment was a sign of its “long-term commitment to the UK”.
Food manufacturing firm Symington’s, which is also part of the NewPrinces Group, uses the Cross Green site for production, warehousing and corporate purposes, with the purchase set to support the firm’s integration with the wider Princes UK business.
4. Protein Works
August saw the Protein Works opening a new production facility in Liverpool after a £10 million investment.
The 100,000 square foot ‘PW Campus’ in the Liverpool suburb of Speke has brought production, fulfilment and R&D under one roof.
Alongside the site opening, Protein Works also promoted Joseph Hook to the role of chief operating officer.
Hook previously held positions at THG, Valeo Confectionery and Saica Packaging, before playing a leading role in the development of the PW Campus as the head of engineering and health & safety.
5. Premier Foods
In September, Food Manufacture reported on Premier Foods’ investment into Lifton site in Devon – the home of Ambrosia custard for more than a century.
This £19 million investment is being delivered in two phases, with the first £9 million used to modernise the Ambrosia rice pudding and custard production through a new custard filling line and high-speed packaging lines.
The remaining £10 million is being used to build a small factory extension which will house a new custard-making plant. This phase is now underway and is expected to be completed by next summer.
6. Mr Whippy
October saw Mr Whippy opening a new £15 million manufacturing site in Sheffield as it expanded its reach into the sweet treat market.
The ice cream brand has already rolled into cupcakes and doughnuts is next on the list, with an expectation to produce more than 104 million annually from next year.
The new product will be made, and distributed, from a 23,355 sq ft unit at Woodhouse Link on Innovation Way in Sheffield after company director Michael Corrado Jackson agreed a new lease for the modern site located just off J31 of the M1.
The investment has created more than 50 jobs on the industrial estate in South East Sheffield.
7. Carlsberg Britvic
That same month, Carlsberg Britvic injected £20 million into a new soft drinks canning line and building extension at its Rugby site.
Situated on the Glebe Darm Industrial Estate, the plant produces some of the UK’s leading soft drinks including Tango and Pepsi. Over the last five years, it has seen more than £60 million in investment; with this latest move creating 34 new jobs.
The new line will drive up production capacity at Rugby, taking the factory’s total number of canning lines up to 10. This will enable Carlsberg Britvic to go from producing 560,000 canned soft drinks an hour to 610,000.
This followed a £1.15 million investment made earlier this year into sustainability improvements at the site, alongside a the fitting of a £13 million canning line in 2023 and a £27 million canning line in 2021.
8. Jones Village Bakery
November marked the launch of Jones Village Bakery’s new £20 million production line at its headquarters on Wrexham Industrial Estate in Wales.
The new line, which took 14 months to install, has doubled the company’s roll-making capacity and is set to create 60 new jobs by next summer.
It’s part of a total investment package of £47 million which also includes plans to convert and extend a storage facility that was built on the nearby site of the company’s bakery that was destroyed by a fire in 2019.
This follows the company’s acquisition by Menissez Bakery Group in June 2024.
9. Borough Broth
In December, the Borough Broth Company secured a £7.5 million investment from Piper to support its next phase of sustainable growth.
The consumer specialist investor will fund the organic bone broth producer’s relocation to a new West London manufacturing facility, which will more than double its current capacity.
Borough Broth currently manufactures all its products in-house at its West London facility, employing a team of more than 50 people.
The investment will also go towards strengthening the senior team and continued innovation across new product organic categories such as soups, stocks and gravies.
10. Sunrise Beverages
This month has also seen news of an on-going Sunrise Beverages investment, with £100K put towards enhancing the production capabilities at Curious Brewery, in Ashford, Kent.
The investment has seen the company automate part of the packaging line and pasteuriser. It also includes the implementation of manufacturing standards such as structured 5S management, which will allow the business to optimise the brewing process and continue to enhance quality assurance.
The investment in Curious Brewery has been on-going, beginning in late 2024 with the installation of a Flash Pasteuriser to allow for processing of Efes beer. This was followed this year by the purchase of a keg washer.
