Consett food company aims to double turnover in the next 12 months thanks to Evolve funding

Submitted by on Tue, 3.06.08

A County Durham-based company that produces quality ready meals and soups plans to double turnover in the next year thanks to a £150,000 fund injection from Evolve Finance, the specialist debt and mezzanine finance division of NEL Fund Managers Limited.

The Tanfield Food Company based in Consett, County  Durham - established in 2004 aims to increase turnover to over four million pounds.
 
Tanfield Food’s products are passionately created by a small team using prime ingredients, sourced from small and local producers.
 
The company plans to use the investment to further develop its ‘Look What We Found’ brand as it continues to grow in leading supermarket chains including Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, strengthening its contract with British Airways as well as the up and coming on line dietary sector.
 
Richard Harper, Managing Director at Tanfield Food Company, said: “Due to the increasing demand for our products we plan to develop our brand further into other sectors. In addition to our British Airways contract, we hope to expand significantly into the travel sector with other airline and train operators.
 
“Moving forward it’s important not to focus completely on the supermarket sector, although this area will always be a major contributor to our business volume.
 
The ‘Look What We Found’ range consists of traditional classic recipes such as ‘Home Reared Beef in Black Velvet Porter Ale’ and ‘Gloucester Old Spot Pork Meatballs’  The company prides itself on using only the finest ingredients with no additives providing a healthy alternative to many ready meals.
 
Joanne Pratt, Investment Executive at Evolve, said: “The team at The Tanfield Food Company have excellent experience and contacts within the sector which has led to some great opportunities for them and they have huge ambition to succeed.
 
“The product is great – not only is the range a healthy alternative to many convenience products, but the local provenance and the ambient storage is also a fantastic selling point at a time when ‘green’ issues are so high on many peoples agendas.”