Catering firm TFS toasts £3m new home

CATERING wholesaler Total Foodservice is ready to move into its £3m new North West base.

The company, which is headquartered in Huddersfield, has been planning the move since 2002, when TFS was created by a merger of two family businesses.

Based within Ribble Valley Enterprise Park on the outskirts of Clitheroe, the new facility, on a 1.5 acre site, more than doubles the amount of office and warehousing space the company had at its previous Chatburn site.

The investment was part-funded by a “substantial loan investment” provided by Lancashire County Council’s Rosebud Finance, which offers funding packages from £20,000 to more than £1m.

The base has a number of ‘green’ features, including a rainwater recycler, low-energy LED lighting, specially-insulated walls to which keep staff warm and the food cold, and a computerised electronic expansion valve system which monitors  and maintains the correct temperature at all times.

It also features two dedicated loading bays, single-floor storage of more than 36,000 sq ft and a presentation kitchen to give demonstrations to current and future customers.

Deputy managing director Simon Howarth said: “This is a significant milestone in our history. We are all very excited about our new premises, which is beautiful to look at and creates plenty of new business opportunities for us.

“This is a family business which has been around for several decades, starting in 1967 as Howarth Foodservice in Huddersfield. We have built this depot to secure our future for decades to come. It is something for the whole company to be proud of.

“Every last detail has been designed to make us more professional, greener and more efficient. It opens up a world of opportunities for us.”