Grant gives butchery new lease of life

Jul 8 2009 by Iain Laing, The Journal

A BUTCHERY has been saved from closure after winning a grant to buy a new cold store which will cut its costs.

Bosses of County Durham wholesale butcher and meat storage firm HDV Foods said the business was no longer viable because of the rising cost of transporting its merchandise to storage sites.

But they say the business now has a bright future after it received a £240,000 grant from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) for a 20,000sq ft cold store and blast freezer at its West Auckland base. It can not only keep on its two staff but take on another six.

Director Stephen Speed said: “If we hadn’t received the RDPE funding, we would have been forced to close the business down, but the money to pay for the cold store will mean that we can expand the business and benefit the region.

“We strongly wish to increase the amount of processing done within the business so that it will allow the meat to be sourced from farms, utilising local abattoirs and give traceability back to the source.

“This in turn will provide greater control over product quality and reduce the carbon footprint as the processing will be closer to the farmer, thus helping to increase margins.”

HDV Foods was formed in 2000 by three directors, Stephen and Suzanne Speed and George Scott who have all been involved in the meat industry for the whole of their working lives. RDPE manager at One North East, Adrian Sherwood, said: “The funding will allow HDV Foods to expand its business, secure the positions of those that already work there and also help build a stronger, more profitable regional food supply chain, whilst reducing the carbon footprint.” The Rural Development Programme for England is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, with the aim of supporting rural businesses and communities.

For more visit www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast or telephone 0845-600 9006.