Gafoor spies growth after £4m investment
PRESTON poultry firm Gafoor Poultry Products has invested around £4m upgrading its factory and plans to spend more on farmland.
The family-owned group, which specialises in halal poultry, reported sales of £41.4m, up 13% in the year to October 2009. During the period it made a pre-tax profit of £150,000, up from a £1m loss last time.
The company said a further, unspecified, capital investment has been made to bring the company’s environmental obligations in line with the latest legislation.
Gafoor has also achieved the British Retail Consortium’s Global Food Standard accreditation which it says will help drive further growth as it targets new customers and launches its own brand of chicken products.
Spokesman Dave Broxton said: “Our strategy is to become one of the UK’s leading providers of chicken products, not only to the halal market but also to the conventional chicken sector. Gaining BRC accreditation is the key to unlocking the doors to blue chip food manufacturers and supermarkets.”
Gafoor employs around 100 staff and sources more than 80% of its birds from local farms. To improve this figure and maintain steady supply it has bought a farm close to the factory and it plans to acquire more.
The business, which processes around 450,000 birds a week, was established in 1964 by three brothers. It is now jointly managed by sons of the original founders Mr Tahir Vaza and Mr Maksud Patel.
