Symington’s aims to create 300 jobs as it hits acquisition trail

A YORKSHIRE food company plans to create up to 300 jobs as it considers making a string of acquisitions.
Symingtons has moved its noodle factory from China to Leeds.Symingtons has moved its noodle factory from China to Leeds.
Symingtons has moved its noodle factory from China to Leeds.

Symington’s has already created 50 jobs by opening a noodle factory in Leeds, and David Salkeld, the company’s chief executive, plans to hire a lot more people on the site.

The factory in Hunslet, near Leeds, has taken on production work which had previously been carried out in two Chinese factories.

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The noodles had been produced at sites in Guangzhou province, near Hong Kong, and one in Hangzhou, which is inland from Shanghai.

Symington’s has taken a long-term lease on Sprint 70, in Old Run Road. Symington’s “in-sourced” the packing of noodle pots into Leeds from China in 2008.

Mr Salkeld said Hunslet was the ideal place for the new noodle factory.

He added: “Our Chinese supplier indicated that they intended to exit noodle production.

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“We’re a Leeds-based business and we’ve got fantastic people who are willing to learn and take on new skills. We took a view that Leeds is our heart, and the best place to invest again.”

Altogether, Symington’s has 850 employees in Leeds and Bradford, after adding 120 staff last year.

The site in Hunslet is close to Symington’s other site in Beeston, which makes it easier to share facilities and resources.

Mr Salkeld added: “This gives us space for expansion which we didn’t have before. We can install more production lines. This space will be full in the next few years.

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“There could be another 200 to 300 jobs created on this site, by the time we’ve filled it up with new production.

“The company’s turnover this year will be around £220m, in the year ending February 2014, and then I expect it to be £240m to £250m in the next year. The momentum behind the business is continuing.”

Earlier this year, Symington’s revealed it was entering the food industry in Australia after striking a deal with consumer giant Unilever.

In its first major international venture, the Leeds business has licensed three brands, including Chicken Tonight, in Australia and New Zealand.

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Under the licensing agreement, Symington’s will take over product development, marketing, sales and distribution of Unilever’s wet sauces portfolio in Australia and New Zealand.

The group took over the Chicken Tonight and Ragu brands in Britain in August 2011 and invested in new product launches and branding and marketing initiatives.

The management and the group’s private equity backer Intermediate Capital Group invested in the deal. The multi-billion pound alternative investment fund bought a 49.9 per cent stake in Symington’s in June last year in a deal that valued the Leeds company at £125m. Management increased its share of the company to 50.1 per cent.

Mr Salkeld and Henrik Pade, the business development director, invested in the business in 2007 with backing from private equity firm Bridgepoint and Yorkshire Bank. Symington’s was said to be worth £45m at the time.

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Last year’s management buyout was codenamed Project Speedboat. Mr Salkeld said: “During our due diligence phase we met all the senior retailers in Australia. We were welcomed with open arms, there’s nothing like us there. Symington’s is the speed-boat in the Australian market.

“We are looking at a number of acquisitions as we speak,” he said. “I would be hopeful that in a year’s time, we’ll have done at least one, if not two, of those acquisitions.

“We’re looking to see whether there are acquisition opportunities in Australia. A decade from now we could be a £1bn branded convenience food business.”

However, Mr Salkeld stressed that he hoped Leeds would remain at the heart of Symington’s operations. Mr Salkeld, who started his career as a graduate trainee with British Steel, has been chief executive of Northern Foods, UK managing director of Arla Foods and chief executive of Grampian Country Food Group.

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Earlier this year, The British Private Equity and Venture Capital Association named him chief executive of the year for the North East.

Founded in 1827, Symington’s 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.

n Read more about David Salkeld’s plans to develop Symington’s in next week’s Business Tuesday.