Former noodle factory snapped up by sugar firm

Sprint 70 in Hunslet, Leeds, which is now home to Kent Foods after Symington's moved out last year.

A FORMER NOODLE factory which was praised by then Prime Minister David Cameron for moving jobs to Yorkshire has been taken over by an independent sugar supplier following its closure.

Kent Foods moved into Sprint 70, a 70,000 sq ft production facility in Hunslet, Leeds, after taking on a sublease expiring in 2027.

The building was previously used by Naked Noodle manufacturer Symington’s, which created 50 jobs there in 2014 after moving its noodle production from China. It closed the factory two years later following a shake-up of its operations.

The move by Kent Foods, one of Europe’s largest independent suppliers of sugars, sweeteners, dairy products, oils and fats to the food manufacturing industry, sees the company consolidate and expand its operations previously located in Garforth and Normanton.

Rob Oliver, director at GVA in Leeds who brokered the deal, said: “Acquisition instructions are always interesting, but it is particularly positive to be advising manufacturers on expanding their production facilities.

“The current market with its shortage of stock suits landlords rather than tenants, and so options can sometimes be quite limited.”

He added: “In this case, we had a handful of options which could have worked, but Sprint 70 suited our client’s needs best.”