Member Article

Leeds LEP supports Harrogate Water Brands in £8 million investment creating 28 jobs

Harrogate Water Brands has received support in its continued expansion and £8 million investment in new machinery and equipment with a £430k grant from Leeds City Region LEP.

Harrogate Water Brands is the independent owner of top-five bottled water brand, Harrogate Spring Water and water charity Thirsty Planet.

The company has recently entered a new era with the opening of its new £6 million bottling line, part of an £8 million new installation, which features state-of-the-art bottling equipment.

The £430k grant has immediately helped to create six new jobs, with the figure projected to rise to 28 new positions in production, sales, marketing and accounts, almost doubling the workforce.

The investment follows a substantial grant from Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Business Growth Programme which is supported by the governments Regional Growth Fund.

As well as enjoying a buoyant UK market, the company was also seeing increased interest from overseas clients who had a thirst for the ‘Britishness’ of the brand.

Harrogate Water Brands raised almost all the capital required for the new installation, but was left with a funding gap. Steve Burnett, Harrogate Water Brands’ Financial Director was aware of the support the LEP was offering businesses.

He said: “I first attended a seminar for the launch of the Business Growth Programme in early 2013, so potential funding was always on our agenda.

“However, we had to identify what we could raise from other sources first.”

The new 23,000 sq ft extension doubles the existing area and houses the new line as well as some warehousing.

The first of its kind in the UK, the revolutionary Krones Ergobloc production line will quadruple output, allowing the company to start to exploit its enviable 320 million litres available for abstraction.

The design of the line is optimized to ensure maximum efficiency and minimum footprint.

Running at 36,000 bottles an hour, it is more than capable of now meeting the increasing demand from overseas; particularly from Russia, China, the Caribbean, and the Middle East, where they have agreed an exclusive partnership agreement to supply the region’s largest Hypermarket ‘Lulu’.

Roger Marsh, chair of the LEP commented: “We are delighted that this funding has enabled excellent employment opportunities for local people and we look forward to continuing our work with Harrogate Water Brands to explore further Apprenticeship and Exporting support.

“Through the Local Growth Fund announced this month, we are delighted that a further £18 million of funding has been committed to continue the successful Business Growth Programme which has already supported over 250 businesses and created over 2,000 across the entire City Region.

“Having additional funding to support thriving businesses in the region, like Harrogate Water Brands, enables the LEP to take forward its ambition to create above trend economic growth and position the Leeds City Region as an economic powerhouse in the north.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Clare Burnett .