01 May 2012
Fletchers Group of Bakeries has begun its investment programme at its Claywheels Lane site following completion of land-sale to Sainsbury's
We have completed a multi-million pound land sale, paving the way for a raft of improvements and future growth for our iconic Sheffield based company.
The deal, to sell three acres of brownfield land adjacent to our site in Wadsley Bridge to Sainsbury's, will enable us to reconfigure our plant, move existing production lines to create a new production and despatch facility and a new, surfaced car parking area at the site amongst other improvements.
Our Group, which has seen a dramatic change of fortunes since a new management team brought in during 2007 helped turnaround the 117-year-old business, dealt directly with Sainsburys on the sale of the land, which has planning permission for a new superstore serving the North of Sheffield.
Stephen Holding, our managing director, said: 'The completion of the land sale at Claywheels Lane will provide a cash injection which is earmarked for a significant upgrade to this site and pave the way for business growth.
We will re-invest proceeds from the land sale directly into our Sheffield operations, helping to provide consistent employment for our more than 350 staff and facilitate improved technical standards and production efficiencies, which are crucial in the demanding food manufacturing environment.'
We were devastated by a fire in 2006 which destroyed 40 per cent of the production capacity at Claywheels Lane and but have seen our business revitalised under the current management, moving from a 2007-08 operating loss of almost £10m to an operating profit of nearly £0.5m this financial year.
Stephen added: 'The project to invest the land-sale funds has started almost immediately and will take approximately 12 months to restructure the plant, modify existing buildings, landscape the grounds and surface a brand new car parking area.'
ENDS