Place UK on target for £30M in sales

That’s according to operations director Andy Shepherdson. Three years ago the company’s full-year turnover was £12.3M​. “We’re now turning over £19.5M,”​ he told FoodManufacture.co.uk. “In the past five years we have grown a lot.”​

The growth had been through existing business as well as through acquisition and had enabled the firm to continue to invest in facilities and services, he said, adding: “We have doubled the size of our packhouse and have grown 18% in fresh fruit productivity.”​

The company was constantly seeking to offer additional services to manufacturing and retail customers, so that it could be a “one-stop shop”​ for their needs, said Shepherdson. That enabled them to cut supplier numbers and improve efficiency, he said.

For example, it had branched out into significant labour provision for customers and now generated roughly £2.3M of revenue from that, he said.

Snapped up Phaseolus​

Place UK has also just snapped up Phaseolus, which specialises in the sale and marketing of individually quick frozen beans and pulses, for an undisclosed sum.

In addition to high-demand products like red kidney beans and chick peas, Phaseolus, based at Bottisham, near Cambridge, also supplies borlotti and cannellini beans, haricot, lentils and split peas.

Place UK, which supplies major retailers including Tesco and Sainsbury with soft fruits and processes frozen vegetables and pasta, had worked with Phaseolus for the past 10 years, said Shepherdson. “They were using us as a processor for them.”

Acquiring the business was a key part of securing a contract with a significant customer, he claimed.

New product development​

PEM Corporate Finance, which advised on the sale, said it would enable Place UK and Phaseolus to respond to strong demand from large manufacturers through significant new product development.

Phaseolus said there was a strong push for such firms to cut the amount of water they used to make their products and switching from meat proteins to beans and pulses did that.

“Place recognised that Phaseolus would be a good fit with their business, and I am confident that it will continue to prosper under their ownership,”​ said director of Phaseolus Sandra Gawthroup.

Place UK had also recently acquired 200 acres of farmland near Cromer, enabling it to expand its supply of raspberries and strawberries, said Shepherdson.