Exclusive: Jobs boost as Symington's wins backing for expansion

Having doubled its turnover to over 90m in three years following its Hermes private equity-backed buy-in in 2007, the Leeds-based company has now secured additional funding from Yorkshire Bank, management shareholders and the private equity fund, which is now managed by a division of Bridgepoint.

A large chunk of the investment will be used to build two new factories in the Hunslet/Beeston area of Leeds. One will be used for its new gravy range, manufactured under the well-established Aunt Bessie's brand, which is part of the William Jackson & Son Group, based in Hull. The range was launched to UK retailers in October.

The gravy market is worth an estimated 1.39m. David Salkeld, chief executive of Symington's, said: "The move into this market fits perfectly with our current range of products and offers us a great opportunity for further development under a very strong brand name. This will continue to provide added value to the category and to our customers, whilst continuing to offer fantastic products to the consumer."

Mr Salkeld said the use of natural flavours in the gravies helped to differentiate it from its competitors. The company has banned the use of flavour enhancers, artificial flavours and colouring in its products.

The gravy factory, which will be built in the first half of 2011, will create about 40 new jobs.

The second will be built to enable further growth in other product areas.

Symington's, which has around 1,000 different product lines, has launched over 230 new products in the past year and employs 15 people in its product development department.

Mr Salkeld said: "We are refreshing and improving our products every year and bringing new products to market. It's an exciting time for the business at the moment. Next year will be very busy."

The company, which employs about 500 people spread over four sites in Leeds and Bradford, also plans to grow its instant just-add-water porridge range, called Oatburst.

It aims to increase the revenue of the product, which is sold in Greggs and Marks & Spencer, from 1.5m to 5m by increasing production capacity and adding new flavours such as cranberry and raspberry, strawberries and cream. It recently launched the porridge in South Africa.

Symington's makes a wide variety of products, from soups, rice, pasta, cous cous and home-baking bearing the names of TV chefs Ainsley Harriot and James Martin, to Golden Wonder Nation's Noodles, Crosse & Blackwell branded products and Symington's own brand of soups and snacks.

The firm's main rivals are Unilever, Nestle and Premier Foods, all multi-billion pound operations.

Customers include Asda, Waitrose, Lidl, Aldi and Poundland. The company has a growing export business worth 3m a year. Over 1m of its exports are to Australia but it also sells to Scandinavia and the Caribbean.

Symington's, which was founded in 1827, is credited with inventing instant soup using pea flour. The soup was used by British troops in the Crimean war of the 1850s. Supplies of Symington's soup were also taken to the Antarctic on Captain Scott's ill-fated expedition to the South Pole.

Mr Salkeld is a veteran of the food industry, previously holding the top jobs at Northern Foods, Arla Foods and Grampian. He acquired the business with marketing director Henrik Pade in a management buy-in in September 2007.

He told the Yorkshire Post last year that the business could grow to a turnover of up to 200m and might float in the next three or four years.

He said: "Since the management buy-in in September 2007 the business has doubled in size to around 90m turnover. This growth is planned to continue with the support of this investment and our continued programme of innovative product development. Turnover for 2011/12 is expected to be 120m."

Company chairman Edwin Booth, who is also chairman of the upmarket supermarket chain Booths, added: "Symington's is a major employer in the heart of Leeds, led by a top quality management team. This investment, allied to a continuing commitment to colleague training and up-skilling will ensure its fantastic people benefit from these strong foundations for growth."

Travels with Aunt Bessie

Aunt Bessie's teamed up with Symington's for its debut in gravy and stuffing last month.

Aunt Bessie's granulated gravies and three stuffing mixes are expected to benefit from the frozen Yorkshire pudding brand's association with roast dinners.

Symington's says the use of natural flavours in the gravies helps differentiate them from other products on the market.

The gravies are available in beef, chicken, onion and vegetable flavours. The stuffing flavours are English sage & red onion; wild sage, onion & apple; and roasted vegetables.

Aunt Bessie's is part of the William Jackson & Son Group, based in Hull.