News: UK Company Reports 2020

ABERGAVENNY FINE FOODS

UK Company Reports 2020

Gwent, Wales-based Abergavenny Fine Foods, set up by Tony and Pam Craske 30yrs ago as a goats cheese business, have reported sales up 16% to £30.9m for the year to March 2020, reversing the previous year’s pre-tax loss of £850,000 into profit of £329,000 and an operating loss of £0.6m into £0.7m operating profit. The company, who reported the sale of their blended cheese business to Somerdale last month, said their turnaround was achieved by cementing their position with UK retail customers, more than doubling exports—mainly to Australia and the US—to £6.5m and controlling overheads. Staff numbers increased from 142 to 187. The business is diversifying into vegan and plant-based products under new MD Jason Rees, securing a seven-figure loan with HSBC last August, with plans to double production capacity over the next 3yrs and focus on plant-based snacking alternatives. They say they plan to increase plant-based and goats cheese product ranges by 20% this year with a view to increasing turnover by 30%. AFF said Christmas was particularly lucrative, with the company expecting to have generated 18% of its 2020 revenue during the four-week run up. Their best-selling plant-based product is ‘no-mozzarella’ style sticks.