Friday, 07 September 2012 17:43

£2.4m package sets up Gilbert's Foods to expand

Rate this item
(0 votes)

Lancashire food supplier Gilbert's Foods is looking to expand its export business after recently securing a £2.4 million funding package from HSBC.

The package includes a £2-million invoice finance line and a £400,000 import finance facility which will provide working capital to enable the company to accelerate export expansion and increase the volume of meat its imports.

The Heysham-based company, which supplies meat and poultry dishes to the wholesale, food service and retail sectors, opened its first facility in Australia earlier this year to support exports to the country. It is also looking to establish exports to Europe, India and China.

The finance will support ambitious plans to significantly grow its £10 million turnover. The finance package was arranged through HSBC's Lancashire Commercial Team in a deal led by Senior International Commercial Manager Chris Mackenzie and Senior Business Development Manager David Taylor.

Gilbert's Foods is a family business that was founded by Gilbert Smith in 1970 and was one of the original suppliers of meat to McDonalds. His son Peter is now managing director of the firm, which employs 65 people. The company specialises in manufacturing pasteurised meat products which are designed for re-heating by consumers.

Managing director Peter Smith said "We import a lot of our meat so the invoice finance element of the finance will help the business as currently a lot of our stock is on the water and arrives in clusters, which ties up working capital and causes cash flow issues. The new facility gives us the headroom to increase imports but also frees up working capital to expand the business elsewhere."

He added "Export is an area we are only just getting into but we see strong growth in this area and will be targeting Europe, China and India, as well as Australia, of course."

Read 2938 times Last modified on Tuesday, 23 March 2021 13:40