UK's first dedicated food and drink business park fully let

The UK's first dedicated food and drink business park - Southglade Food Park in Nottingham - is now fully let, exactly two years after officially opening.

[ClickPress, Wed Jul 04 2007] The UK’s first dedicated food and drink business park is celebrating its second birthday with the news that the final unit has been taken and, for the first time, the park is full.

American ice cream company Mini Melts is poised to take the final unit at Southglade Food Park, Nottingham – creating its European manufacturing headquarters in the city.

Southglade Food Park, Nottingham, officially opened in July 2005 as a pioneering business park offering a range of different-sized units to help fledgling and developing food and drink firms grow and expand.

It also has an onsite Business Centre, run by industry experts The Food & Drink Forum, which offers support, advice and facilities to firms on the park, across the region, and further afield.

Since opening, a number of businesses have moved onto the park and begun climbing through the ladder of units available. But now, for the first time, every unit is taken and Southglade Food Park is fully let.

“It is great news that all the units are now taken, and a wonderful way to celebrate our second birthday,” said Briony Cross, Innovation and Technology Manager at The Food & Drink Forum. “It’s been very encouraging to see businesses grow and develop within the community of Southglade Food Park, and we are delighted that the reputation of the park is spreading and it is becoming known as the ideal place to develop a food or drink business.

“Not only is Southglade Food Park supporting those businesses with premises on the site, it is also proving very useful to food and drink firms throughout the sector and throughout the region who are tasting the benefits of the onsite Business Centre, where we offer a range of help from technical advice and training to marketing support and meeting rooms.”

The latest tenants to move onto the site in Gala Way are the Health Bar Corporation, which makes health bars. The firm has moved into an 880 sq ft incubator unit. The second incubator unit is occupied by pie and pastry maker Oggy Oggy Pasty Company.

The final tenant who is poised to move onto the site is American ice cream company Mini Melts, which is planning to take a 2,000 sq ft hatchery unit for its European manufacturing headquarters. Final planning details are currently being ironed out. Other firms in hatchery units are distribution business and sandwich maker Transfresh/Tasty Foods, catering company McArtney’s Catering and confectioner Cakes & Biscuit LLP.

Vegetable preparation firm Start Fresh Ltd and pasta company Pasta Ficio each occupy two 5,000 sq ft nursery units.

Created on a former landfill site off Hucknall Road, Nottingham, Southglade Food Park has been funded by East Midlands Development Agency (emda), the European Regional Development Fund and Nottingham City Council. Nottingham Regeneration Ltd also played a key role in the development of the project from the concept stage. Lettings are managed by Nottingham City Council.

emda provided £2 million of the £4.7 million project cost and designed the technical and commercial support services at the park.



Ends


Notes to editors:

For further information about Southglade Food Park please contact Briony Cross on 0115 9758814.

The Food & Drink Forum

The Food and Drink Forum was launched in 1998 as a not-for-profit membership-led organisation to stimulate and support the sustainable growth and development of the food and drink industry in the East Midlands.
It aims to:
• Champion the food and drink sector in the East Midlands.
• Develop strategic influencing partnerships within and outside the East Midlands.
• Act as a centre for information and knowledge on all subjects relating to the food and drink sector in the region.
• Stimulate and facilitate sustainable change within companies of all sizes across the food chain.
• Generate income and secure resources to meet the needs of a high-quality service.
• Promote the food and drink sector to future employees through education and the raising of skills.

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