Food-to-go supplier Around Noon has officially opened its newest facility at Slough Trading Estate, where it is creating up to 200 new jobs.
The Northern Irish firm had originally announced the purchase of the 30,000 sq ft production unit near London Heathrow back in August 2023. It adds to Around Noon’s three other sites in Newry, as well as a state-of-the-art factory in north London acquired via the purchase of The Soho Sandwich Company in June 2023.
Around Noon was already operating a manufacturing site in Slough, which came from the 2017 acquisition of sandwich and snack maker Chef in the Box. However, the company has since deemed it unnecesary to have both Slough facilities working in tandem and had chosen to close the existing one. The new factory is set to increase its production capacity by a value of £50m per year, it noted.
The expansion comes as Around Noon reports continued strong organic growth with net sales rising by 21% last year. Latest financial results filed to Companies House for the year ended 31 December 2023 showed its turnover had grown 16.7% to £27.5m compared to FY22 revenue.
Around Noon produces chilled, hot and frozen food-to-go across a range of product categories including sandwiches, wraps, salads, breakfast and hot deli options, snack pots, bakery, and fruit juices. It supplies over 4.4m products every month into industries including travel, forecourt, convenience, and supermarket retail, as well as foodservice sectors like cafés and coffee shops, contract catering, healthcare, and education.
In July 2023, the firm secured a deal to supply own label sandwiches to M&S stores across the island of Ireland, and has more recently formed a strategic partnership with Jason’s Sourdough to produce a range of premium toasties and hot rolls.
“This is a significant moment for our business,” commented Around Noon CEO Gareth Chambers on the opening of the Slough site. “We are on track to achieve £100m turnover and this new facility will play a key role in accelerating growth towards that target and beyond as we continue to expand our presence and market share.”
Chambers noted that it had been the culmination of years of work and a huge team effort. “It’s a site we’re incredibly proud to showcase and one that reflects our scaling ambitions,” he added.
The company emphasised that sustainability formed a core part of the Slough factory’s design. Among its green features are photovoltaic panels on the roof to provide electricity to the premises with any excess sent back into the network grid; energy efficient LED light fittings installed throughout; a heating and comfort cooling system; mechanical ventilation and water-reducing products in the WCs; shower facilities to encourage more employees to cycle to work; and electric vehicle charging points. The site also has Smart meters installed throughout to help improve operational efficiency.
The UK’s food-to-go arena is set to become even more competitive battlefield through the proposed £4bn merger of manufacturing goliaths Greencore and Bakkavor. The firms are currently still finalising terms having agreed to an extension of the ‘put up or shut up’ deadline last month.
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