Flint-based food manufacturer The Pudding Compartment is continuing its major expansion following a £100,000 investment from the Development Bank of Wales.
Established in 2007 by Steve West, The Pudding Compartment supplies the travel, foodservice, and business to business sectors with bespoke cookies, biscuits, cakes and traybakes, along with its own branded range of sweet treats under its Creative Bake Co brand. The loan of £100,000 from the Development Bank is being used to increase the capacity of the 10,000 sq. ft manufacturing unit on Manor Industrial Estate in Flint. This includes the creation of new areas for office and storage space plus making the production floor space larger to accommodate the installation of a new high-performance automated production line.
The Pudding Compartment is also working closely on a project with AMRC in Broughton to convert its business in Flint to become a state of the art SME ‘Factory of the Future’ which includes adopting the latest digital technology.
Having recently completed the Business Innovation and Tourism Escalator Scheme (BITES) run by Industry Wales on behalf of the Welsh Government, Director Steve West said that the company is preparing to double the current turnover of £1.5 million and increase the number of employees from 20 to 30 FTE. He said: “We first had support from the Development Bank in June 2020 with the help of a loan from the Covid -19 Wales Business Loan Scheme. With the pandemic now behind us, our focus is now on transforming the business with the latest digital technology and additional manufacturing capacity to meet the growing demand for our products.
“We have developed our business strategy to drive growth and we’re confident that new technology will help us to improve operational efficiency. The support of the Development Bank as our funding partner means that we have the working capital to invest in our facilities. We hope that this is the beginning of a long-term partnership that will unlock our future potential.”
Andrea Richardson, Portfolio Executive with the Development Bank said: “We’ve worked with Steve since June 2020, helping them to navigate and survive the pandemic. Steve was short-listed for Entrepreneur of the Year at the Wales Food and Drink Awards in May 2023 so it is particularly pleasing to now be supporting them with the investment needed to adopt new technology and create the space to scale-up and grow the business for the long-term.”
The follow-on funding for The Pudding Compartment came from the £216 million Wales Business Fund is financed by the European Regional Development Fund and the Welsh Government. Loans, mezzanine finance, and equity investments are available for deals between £50,000 and £2 million with terms ranging from one to seven years for small and medium-sized businesses (those with fewer than 250 employees) based in Wales, or willing to relocate to Wales.
