New England Seafood International has underlined its confidence in Grimsby, buying up neighbouring premises on Europarc to safeguard future growth.
The Haith’s site, home to the town’s fourth-generation bird food and bait producer, has been bought and immediately leased back to the company.
It is a move that has prompted relocation plans for Haith’s, and it has now agreed a land deal in Louth to create a more biodiverse setting for the business that puts nature at the core.
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Dan Aherne, chief executive at New England, said: “This secures the whole square for our future development. When we acquired Albert Darnell in 2016 we bought the land at the back of us. This is a long term play that will enable us to continue to grow and invest in Grimsby.
“We won’t take possession for some time, Haith’s is still operating out of it, we have a landlord and tenant relationship now.”
The eventual addition will double existing factory space without putting a spade in the ground, though proximity could make linking them an attractive proposition.
Mr Aherne hopes the hosting of COP 26 and the favourable scoring for fish in healthy protein carbon intensity will help drive more people to the seafood aisles, as he navigates the current inflation pressures with the “fundamentals of people, products and customer relationships in good shape”.
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He said: “It is not a bad time to be in seafood with a drive on health and sustainability. We have an opportunity to do a better job across the industry to pitch that when marketing the category.
“Now we have the land in the bank, we can demonstrate our success and in 10 or 20 years know we have the space for what we are doing. It is a long term vote for Grimsby.”
New England was bought by Alaskan organisation Sealaska in November last year, with investment in Grimsby - where it employs 200 people - a strong undertone when the deal was completed. It isn't the firs to take such steps, with Ultimate Packaging - now Proampac - gradually increasing its Europarc footprint. Sector rival Young's also took on XPO Logistics' site in Ladysmith Road to increase its Humberstone Road factory and logistics capability.
Haith’s was based on Park Street on the Grimsby and Cleethorpes border for decades, with the founder having acquired a bomb-damaged chapel post-war.
It moved to the state-of-the-art premises on Genesis Way in 2008, with ambassador Bill Oddie cutting the ribbon.
The Park Street base - on the market since the move - was only recently sold, with a small business hub now being brought forward there.
Agreement has been reached with East Lindsey District Council for a plot at Fairfield Industrial Estate, and subject to planning it could move inside two years.
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The plan is to create a base in keeping with the business needs, while giving as much back to nature as possible.
“This will allow us to gear ourselves up for new challenges,” director Simon King said.
“This deal is going to be good for the town, and while originally we were reluctant because we are settled and it does a good job for us, we did start to think about the potential.
“We took a fresh look at what we are doing, we are exporting, we are already in 20-plus markets internationally and want to do more and maximise our free trade agreements as they come up. We also want lots of green space, we want to give more back to nature as we encourage our customers too; we will have modern premises but increase our sustainability.”
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