The opening of the new 929m2 superstore in Sutton Fold, St Helens was backed by Lloyds Bank with a £900,000 finance package.
The store will allow Company Shop to expand its redistribution network across the wider Liverpool city region, servicing the north west of England and north Wales.
Operating on a membership basis, members would be able to benefit from discounts of up to 70% on products sourced from the UK food supply chain.
Membership will be extended to employees of the food manufacturing industry, alongside people working in the emergency services and the National Health Service.
‘Plans to further expand’
Company Shop founder and chairman John Marren said: “The opening of our new Company Shop store in St Helens is a key part of our plans to further expand our successful model in the Liverpool City Region and beyond.
“We have big ambitions to continue to expand on a national scale and stop even more good food from going to waste.”
Lloyds Bank relationship director Mark Butterworth said company shop played an indispensable role in reducing waste in the food supply chain.
“Supporting businesses like this is central to Lloyds Bank’s mission of helping Britain prosper,” said Butterworth.
‘Number of markets it can access’
“The financial support will help Company Shop to complete the next step in its growth across the north west, and increase the number of markets it can access and service across the region.”
Headquartered in Tankersley, South Yorkshire, Company Shop helps retailers, manufacturers and other brands stop more than 50M items of food and household products going to waste annually.
Company Shop works in tandem with its social enterprise Community Shop, which aims to redistribute goods, provide debt advice, advice on employability skills, and more to those in need living in deprived communities. The Company Shop will be taking part in the Food Manufacture Group’s Business Leaders’ Forum next month in London. See box for details.
Meanwhile, the East of England Co-op has pledged to become the first big retailer to sell food after its ‘best before’ date, in a bid to crack down on food waste.
Food Manufacture Group’s Business Leaders’ Forum
Food Manufacture's annual Business Leaders' Forum, to take place in London on January 23, will bring together the top business leaders from the food and drink manufacturing industry. As well as providing an opportunity for Britain's food industry leaders to discuss the pressing issues of the day, the forum will also provide an ideal chance to network with other senior people within the sector.
Hosted by law firm DWF, attendance at the forum is free, but by personal invitation only. More information about the event, chaired by Paul Wilkinson, chair of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink, is available here.