100 jobs set to be created as food group mushrooms

Mushroom processing business Hughes, from Northern Ireland, is creating 100 jobs in Yorkshire.

It is planning a facility on an 11-acre site in East Yorkshire, near the town of Howden, according to Just Food.

Hughes said it was investing in the new facilities to capitalise on the demand for further homegrown produce.

The first facility on the site is set to be operational by next month, with 70 jobs created initially and a further 30 employed by the end of the year.

Hughes is based in Co. Tyrone in Northern Ireland and was founded in 1964.

Emmet Hughes, the company’s business development director, said: “We believe the scale and ambition of our investment is unprecedented in the UK mushroom industry and the world class facility we’re creating in East Yorkshire is unrivalled in Europe.

“This state-of-the-art, efficient and environmentally friendly mushroom production operation has been developed after extensive research with some of the world’s most successful producers to meet the demands and challenges of the modern industry.

“As a business, this has been part of our growth strategy for several years, but it is particularly timely as the UK prepares to leave the European Union.

“Many current and potential customers are already prioritising suppliers who are UK-based and prepared to invest in the future, and industry commentators have been saying for some time that the volume of British produce needs to be increased.”