Newry-headquartered Around Noon has posted a tasty 64% increase in sales over the last year as it cements its position as one of UK’s fastest growing food and beverage companies.
The food-to-go firm, launched from the kitchen table of the Chambers family in 1989, had revenues of £68 million in the 2023 calendar year, according to accounts filed at Companies House.
That’s up from £41.6m the year before and more than three times the 2022 figure of £22.5m.
The group also made a bottom-line profit of £750,058 against £651,394 a year earlier, and had net assets of £867,926 at the balance sheet date, which compares to a liability of £483,302 in 2022.
And the company - which produces high-quality chilled, hot and frozen products including sandwiches, wraps, salads and baked goods at six factories in the UK - also added more than 300 members of staff to its roster.
While some of the growth came organically, much came via acquisition, notably through buying the north London-based Soho Sandwich Company, which led to Around Noon opening a new 30,000 sq ft factory in Slough.
Around Noon’s payroll soared from 484 in 2022 to 798 last year, and as a result its wages bill went from £15.2m to £21.7m.
The company produces 4.5 million products every month which are supplied into industries including forecourt, convenience and supermarket retail, the café and coffee shop industry, contract catering, healthcare, travel, education and corporate.
In May it came in at 12th place in global advisory firm Alantra’s long-running annual Food & Beverage Fast 50 report, which ranks the UK’s fastest-growing privately-owned food and beverage businesses on the basis of revenue growth over the previous two years.
Chief executive Gareth Chambers (39), who is part of a directorship team at Around Noon Foods Ltd which includes Howard Farquhar (67), Patrick McAliskey (56) and Daniel Silverston (48), said: “Our business has grown from humble beginnings to one of the largest producers of food-to-go on these islands.
“That is testament to the hard-working team we’ve built – one that is at the forefront of the industry, supporting clients to continually innovate and serve the needs of this fast-paced market.”
He added: “Our market knowledge is driving strong organic growth and we’re seizing the moment to capitalise on the momentum of our most recent acquisition to really propel growth over the next few years through significant investments that will maintain and create new employment opportunities and further reinforce our market position.”