A Cheshire-based bottling business has today announced it has completed the expansion of its Burtonwood plant, supported by funding from Barclays.
Thomas Hardy Holdings, which brews and bottles beer, has added a second bottling line with an additional 10m to 15m case capacity, with the aim to meet increasing demand.
The completion follows work undertaken at the firm’s second plant in Kendal, on which it spent £3m to “improve efficiency and consistency of performance”.
Thomas Hardy Holdings, which received £10m funding from Barclays, said it spent around £17m on both developments, which are now operational.
Thomas Hardy director Neil Voss said its “ambitious growth plans” have “paved the way for the creation of circa 50 new, local jobs”.
The funding deal was put together by Barclays relationship director Paul Devenport.
Mr Davenport said: “We’ve known the team for five years and have been delighted to welcome them to Barclays at such a pivotal time for their business.
“Combining our industry knowledge with their ambitious plans, we were able to agree a deal to enable the expansion, modernisation and future prosperity of the business.
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“This significant capital expenditure (CAPEX) will enable Thomas Hardy to maintain their competitive advantage and future-proof the operation for years to come.”
Mr Voss said that Barclays have become the firm’s “exclusive banking partners as we move towards 2020 and beyond”.
“Barclays’ speed of response, understanding of our business and timescale for a project to install a new glass bottling line at our Burtonwood facility has enabled Thomas Hardy to stay on track to deliver additional capacity to our exciting, high profile customers,” he added.
The business was founded in 1997 by Peter Ward after he identified a niche for packaging solutions for brands and clients in need of production facilities. It is now jointly led by Mr Voss and Mr Ward’s son, Chris Ward.