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Christmas has come early for a County Durham catering butchery business after it secured a grant for an expansion that will create new supply opportunities for farmers.
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Mike Fenwick Quality Catering Butchers in Newton Aycliffe - which supplies meat to hotels, restaurants, pubs, golf clubs, nursing homes and industrial caters right across the North - has won a £236,000 investment from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) to increase its capacity in a move to larger premises.
The relocation to a new unit on the Aycliffe Industrial Park in Darlington will mean the firm can source beef, pork and lamb directly from local farmers – increasing quality and offering products that can be fully traced for both catering customers and a retail outlet within the expanded business.
The investment will also help the company buy new machinery so that it can start curing its own bacon and providing a whole range of cooked meats, and to create new jobs.
Owner Mike Fenwick said: “We’re really pleased and excited about the move, which is the culmination of a lot of hard work over the last eight months and will set up the business for the future.
“With so many firms having such a tough time at the moment, it’s reassuring that we’ve been able to secure this financial support for a project that will create new jobs and help us expand our product range.
“Our orders are well up on last year and the Christmas rush is as busy as ever, so we’re looking forward to the move in the New Year.”
The business is currently running at full capacity at its existing base, so a move to new premises is needed to enable future growth.
The new 10,000 square foot base on Hurworth Road will allow the company to make its production processes more efficient with larger fridges and freezers, new sausage-making machinery and meat dicing equipment to produce large volumes more quickly. It will also mean the firm can offer extra services, including:
- In-house slicing for home-cured bacon, cooked ham, pork, turkey and beef
- A new retail section to sell complimentary products from farmers such as jams, chutneys and cheeses
- A fresh meat counter for trade and retail customers
The relocation and launch of the additional activities are expected to be completed next year, creating a number of new jobs.
The RDPE investment is jointly funded by the European Union and Defra, and is managed in the region by One North East.
The Agency’s rural board member, Ian Brown, said: “At a time when many businesses are finding it more difficult to access finance for growth, it’s fantastic to see RDPE helping a successful business to expand, creating new jobs and opening more opportunities for farms throughout the supply chain.
“One of our central aims for RDPE is to support projects that can add significant value to agricultural products and which boost productivity, skills and employment in the long-term – which is exactly what these plans aim to do.”
HW Chartered Accounts has been working with the business to secure the funding and grant aid required for the project.
HW Corporate Finance Manager Graham Cornforth said: “This is an excellent example of how the expansion of a North East business can have a positive knock-on affect on other local businesses.
“One North East has been very helpful and pragmatic throughout the process of securing the RDPE grant.”
The Rural Development Programme for England 2007-2013 is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of delivering targeted support to rural businesses and communities. It is managed in North East England by One North East, Natural England and the Forestry Commission.
The RDPE investment being managed by One North East combines larger projects to help many businesses in different sectors of the rural economy - including bioenergy and land-based skills, and projects adding value to agricultural and forestry products - with smaller investments to help individual businesses to start-up, grow or diversify, and support to develop more sustainable rural communities.
For more information on Mike Fenwick Quality Catering Butchers, visit http://www.mikefenwick.co.uk/
For more information on RDPE in North East England, visit: www.rdpenortheast.co.uk
For more information on RDPE, visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/rurdev/index_en.htm
http://www.defra.gov.uk/rural/rdpe/index.htm
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For more information, contact Claire Mason (press office) on 0191 229 6429 / 07765220755 or email Claire.mason@onenortheast.co.uk
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