Rochdale firm emerges from pandemic stronger thanks to government funding

Forrest Fresh Foods

A £500,000 government support package has enabled a Rochdale food and drink distributor to overcome the pandemic and expand its operations, creating local jobs.

Family-run Forrest Fresh Foods secured the cash injection from Barclays, backed by UK Export Finance (UKEF).

The firm supplies more than 5,000 lines of food, drink, confectionery and household products to retail and leisure outlets across the UK, as well as more than 50 countries.

Brands supplied include Cadbury, Robinsons Juice and Walkers.

Since the support the firm has increased sales by 70%.

Managing director, Chris Craven, said: “Demand for our products has never been so high – and we’ve seen international interest in some of the UK’s most renowned brands rise over the last few years.

“The UKEF support has been a breath of fresh air in what has been a difficult 12 months to navigate, enabling us to sustain our buying power and continue to price products competitively for our customers.”

Forrest Fresh Foods now turns over in excess of £60m per year, with more revenue streams to be unlocked in different markets in the next 12 months. The business is planning to increase its headcount by 27% in 2022, as a result of UKEF support bolstering job prospects in the region.

Mike Freer, Minister for Exports, said: “There’s a world of opportunity for UK exporters, and global demand for Britain’s best loved food and drink brands continues to grow at an impressive pace. UKEF is committed to helping UK business such as Forrest Fresh Foods to seize this demand, as we aim to reach £1 trillion in exports annually.”

The General Export Facility (GEF) was first available to UK businesses in March 2021 to support exporters through the pandemic.

It was designed to provide exporting SMEs access to working capital support to make UKEF’s support more flexible and accessible. More than £120m-worth of loans have been issued in the first nine months.

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