Bernard Ginns: Yorkshire factory’s vital role in Burberry success story

But Burberry’s Castleford site is playing an increasingly important role for the luxury fashion house, which is currently one of the biggest success stories in British business.

The group has been reluctant to talk about its Yorkshire operations in recent years, mindful perhaps of the painful consolidation process it carried out in 2009, which resulted in hundreds of job losses and the closure of its Rotherham factory for sewing outerwear.

More details are now starting to emerge about the Castleford factory and its vital role at the heart of this world-famous British label, whose camel, red and black check pattern is coveted in all corners of the world.

The factory, which employs 600 people, manufactures Burberry’s heritage trenchcoat, the company’s most iconic product.

Core outerwear, including the heritage trenchcoats, along with large leather goods, “again drove half of growth” during the last quarter, the company said last week when it announced a 21 per cent rise in revenues.

The contribution underlines just how crucial the Castleford factory is to Burberry. The group has doubled capacity at the site since 2010 and it is said to be “booming”.

I can reveal that the group has recently launched an apprenticeship scheme in Yorkshire. It is operating at Castleford and at Woodrow, Burberry’s printing and weaving factory in Keighley.

Apprentices are learning about mechanical support and business efficiency. Castleford has also launched a training school for its staff.

This looks at all stages of the manufacturing process of the trenchcoat from sewing to pattern cutting to pressing. The training school is set to more than double in size over this quarter.

Burberry is investing in its skills, its heritage and its craftsmanship in this region. It knows that quality and consistency are all important in maintaining the high value of its brand, which has come such a long way since its ‘Chav’ days in the last decade.

Yorkshire is a massive driving force behind this business, which last year reported a 27 per cent increase in annual turnover to £1.5bn.

It would be nice to see Burberry make more of this important link.

The Dutch are at it. The Canadians too. Even the Australians. So why aren’t we?

I am talking about the use of pension funds to invest in UK infrastructure.

With its open markets, the UK has long been a favoured destination for international investors who like their returns steady and assets regulated.

Forward-looking pension fund managers who are more mature in their buying approach now own vast chunks of key infrastructure in the UK.

But British pension funds have been reluctant to enter this particular asset class.

One reason is that it’s been difficult for them to do so. But the times are changing, with government and bank finance both hard to come by.

According to the National Association of Pension Funds, pension funds hold more than £1 trillion in assets, but only around two per cent is invested in infrastructure. The NAPF is working with the Government to look at ways of unlocking some of this investment potential.

Closer to home, there are some interesting ideas being pursued at a city level.

At Sheffield council, chief executive John Mothersole is exploring the avenue of setting up an investment fund to drive economic development in the city and surrounding region.

Like its counterparts, the local authority is facing big cuts in grants for regeneration. This forces the leadership to make a decision: do they halt economic development activity in the hope that one day the grants will return or do they take a different approach?

Mr Mothersole is opting for the latter. It’s understood Sheffield is studying the experience of local authorities in Greater Manchester, which in 2009 got together and top-sliced transport funding to put into a pot, along with borrowings, to pay for agreed priorities.

Sheffield is also looking at using business rates, which will be localised from April 2013, to channel into an investment fund. “It’s fast moving but early days,” said Mr Mothersole of the project.

NAPF chief executive Joanne Segars has said that many pension funds struggle with the mechanics of investing in infrastructure.

“They need a simpler financial vehicle that helps them to get on board with bricks and mortar,” she said.

Might Sheffield’s investment fund, if it were to go ahead, provide such a vehicle?