One of the UK's largest suppliers of tomatoes is ripe for further growth after securing a £6million funding package to purchase a new facility.
Alderley Edge based APS Salads produced 54 million packs of tomatoes last year and is the largest supplier of UK tomatoes to Tesco.
The funding from Yorkshire Bank has allowed the company, which also supplies cucumbers and peppers, to invest in its growing site at Alderley Edge, production facility in Middlewich and acquire a new site in Kent.
As well as its Tesco contract, the company supplies to Iceland and Aldi supermarkets and has forecast to hit a turnover of almost £39million this year.
David Hunt, business partner at Yorkshire Bank in Stafford, said: "APS Salads runs a hugely impressive operation and has very clear plans for continued growth. This latest expansion will unlock doors to supply other large UK retailers and also gives the business capacity to enlarge its glasshouse footprint."
Mark Pearson, managing director of APS Salads, said: "Our Kent acquisition has allowed us to significantly increase production and has given us an additional packaging and processing centre in the south of the UK, greatly improving efficiency across the business. This funding package will also allow us to invest in our Cheshire sites as we target further contracts with UK supermarkets and food suppliers."
Mike Travis and Tony Morris, partners at Chafes Solicitors LLP, assisted APS Salads with both the purchase of the site and the organisation of a Combined Heat and Power (CHP) unit which generates electricity for the site and sells excess energy back to the national grid.
Mike Travis, partner at Chafes Solicitors comments: "This has been a real team effort from start to finish and we are extremely pleased to have helped APS Salads with their acquisition."
APS Salads was founded as A Pearson & Sons in 1949 by Albert and Hilda Pearson. It is still a family business with both second and third generation still actively involved in both the development and the day-to-day running of all three of the group businesses.
The company has had a growing site at Alderley Edge since 1972, though it began to expand significantly in 2006 after creating a production and packaging facility in Middlewich. The business employs 253 staff across its three sites which cover an area of 45 hectares.
Photo: (l-r) David Hunt (Yorkshire Bank) Mark Pearson (APS) Alan Pearson (APS) and Mike Travis (Chafes Solicitors).
