Harrogate Water Brands set for global growth

Harrogate Water Brands, the independent owner of Harrogate Spring Water and water charity Thirsty Planet, is gearing up for global expansion.

With support from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, the business is expanding its operations and investing in new equipment.

The company has opened its new £6m bottling line, part of an £8m new installation, which features state-of-the-art bottling equipment.

The investment follows a substantial grant from Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Business Growth Programme, which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

As well as enjoying a buoyant UK market, the company is also seeing increased interest from overseas clients. Harrogate Water Brands raised almost all the capital required for the new installation, but was left with a funding gap.

The new 23,000 sq ft extension houses the new production line as well as warehousing.

Running at 36,000 bottles an hour, the new production line is more than capable of meeting the increasing demand from overseas; particularly from Russia, China, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, where it has agreed an exclusive partnership agreement to supply the region’s largest hypermarket.

The £430,000 grant has immediately helped to create six jobs, with the figure projected to rise to 28 new positions in production, sales, marketing and accounts, which will almost double the workforce.

Roger Marsh, chairman of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, said: “We are delighted that this funding has enabled excellent employment opportunities for local people and we look forward to continuing our work with Harrogate Water Brands.”