Mornflake a cereal investor

MORNING Foods, the agricultural business which owns the Mornflake Oats brand, increased sales in the year to July 31, 2011 by 23% to £110.4m.

Pre-tax profits grew by 24% to £4.7m (£3.8m).

The company is an oat miller whose products are marketed under the Mornflake brand and include Superfast Oats, Jumbo Oats, Oatbran, Oatmeal and Oatbran Flakes.

Its roots lie in a Cheshire milling business set up in 1675, and managing director John Lea is a direct descendant of the original miller, William Lea.

According to its accounts, the company “has an extensive research and development programme resulting in some major new advances in this field”.

It also has contracts in place with farmers from across the UK to harvest oats on its behalf.

Accounts show that the company’s net debt increased to £5.5m by the year end – up from £3.3m in the prior year. However, net assets also grew by 14% to £22.5m (£19.8m).