Charlie Bigham’s will create 300 jobs at new site

The new facility is due to be completed by the end of the year, creating an initial 100 new jobs. About 200 more jobs would subsequently be created over the coming years, Charlie Bigham’s said.

The new development, in the former Dulcote Quarry near Glastonbury, will be the first of four new kitchen facilities on the site. Each further development would create more jobs over the next 15 years, said owner Charlie Bigham.

‘Fantastic opportunity to expand’

“We saw a fantastic opportunity to expand in a huge market and give more people what they’re looking for in their meals – fresh, delicious food which they can be sure is free of preservatives and comes from a source they can trust,” said Bigham.

“I am very excited about our future and our new production kitchen in the west will be a very important part of it. I’m also confident that it will have a positive impact on those we employ and on the community around us as we advance with the long-term vision behind the project.”

Charlie Bigham’s said the development was being built in the style of a university campus, to create a “unique and positive working environment for employees”.

Style of a university campus

The expansion came after the ready meals firm secured funding from NatWest, Lombard and RBS Invoice Finance.

NatWest relationship manager Roy Bawden said: “Bigham’s is a business driven forward by a truly top-quality product. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to support Bigham’s ambition and to help it grow, to the great benefit of customers, employees and the community.”

Meanwhile, Charlie Bigham’s announced in October that it had more than doubled sales revenue in two years, after posting a 35% growth in its latest full-year financial results. At the time, Bigham said the company would invest in a new production kitchen in the south west after a “great year”.