Christmas comes early as bakery expands

Christmas has come early for a bakery in Hull which produces over a million festive cakes and puddings each year after securing funds to expand its operations into new premises and double its work force.

The £150,000 loan which included £75,000 from NPIF – BEF & FFE Microfinance, part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund, and £75,000 invested directly by Finance For Enterprise was backed by the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan, has enabled Gold Crown Bakeries to relocate to a new 20,000 sqft facility, with the funding being used to create three new production lines and expand the company’s workforce from 14 to 28 members of staff.

Gold Crown Bakeries works exclusively within the wholesale market and counts luxury hamper producers Cartwright & Butler, Virginia Hayward Ltd and Clearwater Hampers amongst its client base. The company produces more than a million Christmas-related products each year including more than 7,000 Christmas puddings a day during peak periods.

The firm usually begins preparation for Christmas in January, with production ramped up from May onwards. With substantial orders to meet, following a successful 2020 which saw turnover surpass £2m, the company only had a very small window of opportunity to relocate to a newly identified site.

Working with investment manager Jeremy Meadowcroft, the company was able to secure the finance needed by the business, and created a funding package which comprised of funding delivered by Finance For Enterprise and NPIF – BEF & FFE Microfinance, of which Finance For Enterprise acts as joint fund manager.

Following the securing of renovation work on the premises began in March, taking nearly months. Production has now switched the new state-of-the art facility on Dairycoates Industrial Estate last month, and the business is now planning to use the additional capacity within the bakery to introduce a number of new lines.

Jonathan Battersby, bakery director, Gold Crown Bakeries said: “In recent years, Gold Crown Bakeries has been on a considerable growth journey. Turnover has risen from £800,000 in 2015 to more than £2.25 million during our last financial year, however we realised our factory was working close to capacity, with members of staff working around the clock in order to meet demand.

“The support we received from NPIF & Finance For Enterprise was excellent. They kept us updated throughout the application process and with funding in place, we were able to begin production on 24th May, just two months since we began the process.

“The additional capacity in our new premises has meant we are able to increase the volumes of products created as well as investing time introducing new product ranges. As a direct result of the support we’ve received from Finance For Enterprise, I’m confident that we’re on course to enjoy a record year of growth, enabling us to double our workforce and create 14 new jobs in the business.”

Jeremy Meadowcroft, investment manager, Finance For Enterprise said: “The challenge facing Jonathan and his team was being able to successfully relocate the business to larger premises without impacting upon production. In a business where Christmas is thought about every day from the beginning of January it was important to put together a funding package quickly, enabling them to complete the move before they reached peak production times.

“For Gold Crown Bakeries we were able to approve the loan in just two weeks from the time of their application in March. The time between drawing down the loan and starting production was less than eight weeks, which is an incredible achievement, especially considering the business lost just four days of production time between closing the doors on their old bakery and the first Christmas puddings rolling off the production line in their new bakery. I’m looking forward to seeing how the business continues its impressive growth journey in the future.”

Melanie Ellyard at British Business Bank, added: “It is excellent to see a business like Gold Crown Bakeries receiving NPIF funding to finance growth into new facilities, as well as almost doubling its staff numbers, creating several new jobs in the Humber region. NPIF is here to support businesses at every stage of their journey with various funding options, so we are pleased to be a part of this.”