Food company to create next generation of healthy products after gaining Yorkshire Bank backing

10/06/2011

A major investment in the next generation of production technology, which will also double staff numbers, starts this summer at a North Yorkshire food company.

Work starts this summer on building two new 30,000 sq ft manufacturing facilities to enhance production at cereals and meet-free foods business, The Brecks Company, Selby, after gaining backing from Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds Financial Solutions Centre (FSC) through its Investing for Growth initiative.

The £3m investment in the two new facilities, which are due to become operational next year (2012) is expected to create 60 new jobs at The Brecks Company, which supplies its cereal products to blue-chip global confectionery businesses and its meat-free products to household name retailers through the UK, Europe and US.

The Brecks Company founder and managing director, James Hirst, 43, says: “We are one of the biggest, most productive operators in our two target sectors globally and, in terms of meat-free products, also supply the `meat’ or textured materials, we manufacture to other food companies.

“The investment in new facilities and technology will enable us to stay at the forefront of the industry. On the cereals side we will be developing cluster technology and, for meat-free, we will be expanding our product range and increasing capacity so as to maintain and grow our customer base.

“People’s quest for a healthier lifestyle is driving our growth as they eat cereal bars rather than less healthy alternatives and meat-free products, where we manufacture all the ingredients, also offers medium to long-term environmental sustainability.

“We were quite happy with our previous bank but also approached Yorkshire Bank for funding for this development and it was more business like and made us an offer which met all our requirements and which we could not refuse"

The Brecks Company, which was founded in 1992, has 60 staff and a £10m turnover. The company’s cereal products include snack bars and breakfast cereals and its meat-free products include sausages and burgers. The business has also developed a unique wood smoking process which enables it to target products specially made for the German, Swiss and Dutch markets where they are popular.

Yorkshire Bank Leeds FSC Business partner, Michael Tew, who arranged the funding, says: “The Brecks Company is a huge Yorkshire success story, a business at the global forefront of its sector. We are pleased to be supporting them through our Investing for Growth initiative and creating more badly-needed jobs in the private sector.”

Yorkshire Bank’s Investing for Growth initiative enables businesses to take loan repayment holidays, interest-only repayments and extended loan and credit terms to take advantage of quality growth opportunities. Businesses signing up to the package can re-invest the cash into their operation for expansion, new staff, equipment, machinery and commercial development.

Yorkshire Bank’s Leeds FSC, Manor Road, includes more than 80 corporate, commercial and private banking specialists operating in multi-discipline teams encompassing corporate banking, private wealth management, treasury services and credit and operates a traditional method of banking with funding from deposits used to support investments in the local community.