UK: Tomato firm ripe for growth with £3.67m expansion
Mark Pearson, group managing director of APS, said: “We have worked closely with Tesco on the development and expansion of the Europa nursery since 2010 in both initially purchasing the site and again within its recent expansion.
“We are currently working with both Yorkshire Bank and Tesco to further develop the site in line with our growth aspirations and the customer’s requirements.
“This will create substantial additional turnover and jobs over the next three years.”
Yorkshire Bank’s corporate banking team has provided £2.85m of the funding for the site after previously provided finance for the initial purchase of the nursery in 2010.
Around £13m of projected sales will be generated by the group’s nurseries, which supply retailers including Tesco and Iceland.
Neil Farrell, a director in Yorkshire Bank’s Manchester-based corporate banking team, said: “The latest phase of expansion by APS Salads underscores the impressive growth potential of a hugely successful business.
“With a capable and enterprising management team at the helm, there is every reason to suggest APS will continue to generate further profitable growth.”
APS Salads was founded as A Pearson & Sons in 1949 by Albert and Hilda Pearson.
It remains a family business with second, third and fourth generations still actively involved.
The company has had a growing site at Alderley Edge since 1972, though it began to expand significantly in 2006 after creating a production and packaging facility in Middlewich.
Source: manchestereveningnews.co.uk
