The move would create an additional 929m2 of manufacturing space and fund new equipment to boost capacity, enabling the firm to produce more than £30M worth of frozen food annually, it said.
The funding package includes a £720,000 grant from the Welsh government’s Economic Growth Fund and a £1.2M mezzanine investment from Finance Wales. It was announced today (November 14) by economy minister Edwina Hart during a visit to the ready meals firm.
“We’d intended to increase our capacity to more than £30M in the next three to four years to allow us to enter new markets,” said KK Fine Foods’ ceo and founder Leyla Edwards.
‘Expansion plans’
“But the success of our seasonal products, as well as the continued sales growth in our existing client base, meant we’ve brought forward our expansion plans to meet this demand. Having successfully secured Welsh government grants in the past, we knew they would be open to backing our current plans.
“Officials introduced us to Finance Wales who structured a flexible mezzanine loan package to help make up the rest of the capital we required.”
Hart added: “This is a significant expansion project and I am delighted that funding support is helping KK Fine Foods expand into new markets and take advantage of emerging market opportunities.
“The Welsh government has supported a number of expansions at KK Fine Foods and I welcome this latest important investment that will create more jobs on Deeside Enterprise Zone.
‘Package to create jobs’
“This is also an excellent example of the Welsh government and Finance Wales working together to come up with a package of finance to support growth and create jobs ...”
Family business KK Fine Foods makes frozen ready meals, supplying foodservice customers such as Marstons, Greene King and JD Wetherspoon. It also supplies well-known wholesalers like the Brakes Group and Bidvest Group.
In recent years it has also sold frozen Christmas meals to retail chains including Iceland and Aldi and growth in this market had fuelled its expansion, it claimed.
KK has grown consistently since it was established over 25 years ago, with turnover reaching £18M at the end of last year.
Structure investment
Finance Wales investment executive Rhodri Evans worked with the finance team at KK Fine Foods, led by Graham Jackson, to structure the investment.
Evans said: “KK Fine Foods is a real North Wales success story and has built up a strong reputation in food manufacturing as well as an excellent customer base. This latest expansion will strengthen its position as a major UK frozen food manufacturer.
“Our investment complemented the grant from the Welsh government. We ensured the repayment profile suited the company’s plans and we were also able to offer an interest rate reduction as they’re located on an Enterprise Zone.”
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