Member Article

Durham bakery set to expand and create at least 40 new jobs

County Durham-based bakery Olivia’s Artisan Bakery & Cafe, is expanding its production facilities and branching out into new markets following a six figure investment.

To help fund the next stage of the business’s development and to secure its long-term sustainability, the Olivia’s team has turned to regional fund management firm NEL Fund Managers for an investment from The Finance for Business North East Growth Fund.

The company has also secured a similar sum from The Business Investors Group Syndicate and additional support is also being provided by Northumbria Asset Finance and Tees Valley Unlimited..

Olivia’s currently employs around 60 people, and is aiming to increase that number to over 100 while also extending the work it does with The Clervaux Trust to support young people with learning difficulties.

Olivia’s is a social enterprise with its headquarters in Darlington and has four cafes around the area, using local ingredients in its bakery products.

It works with The Clervaux Trust, a Darlington charity which helps to give young people more independence and to positively contribute to their local economy.

Olivia’s also supports the Trust’s work by giving a proportion of the profits it generates to support.

The present management team took over the business from the Trust two years ago, and has since expanded operations to include selling artisan bread to local hotels, restaurants and pubs.

Olivia’s will shortly move into a new, larger bakery in Darlington, which will help both improve the efficiency of their production process and give them the capacity required to extend their product range.

A series of new outlets will be opened in the coming months in the region’s major population centres, and a wider range of commercial customers across the same area will be targeted with the extended product range.

Managing director, Rick McCordall, says: “The recent surge in interest in where the food that we all eat comes from, and more specifically in baking, has created an excellent climate in which we’ve been able to grow to our present size.

“Our aim now is to create a successful brand and ethos that’s clearly understood and appreciated right across the region, and the success we’ve had so far gives us confidence that this is very much an achievable goal.

“The move to new facilities will increase the capacity we need to capitalise on the demand that we know is out there amongst the region’s quality pubs, restaurants and hotels, but which we’ve not had the opportunity to go after so far.

“Improving our training, marketing and financial systems alongside these production enhancements will take the business on to a new level, and having these investors on board add great credibility to the plans we’re now looking to execute.”

Investment executive at NEL Fund Managers, Jane Siddle, said: “Olivia’s has a clear plan for extending the brand’s reach while staying true to the ethos on which it has been built, and we’re excited to see how they now grow their footprint right across the region.”

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