Northern Ireland food-to-go firm ranked one of UK’s fastest growing privately owned food and beverage companies

Newry’s Around Noon, one of the leading food-to-go manufacturers in the UK and Ireland, has been listed as one of the fastest growing, privately owned food and beverage companies in the UK in a new report published by global advisory firm Alantra.

The food-to-go manufacturer, which produces high-quality chilled, hot and frozen products including sandwiches, wraps, salads and baked goods, is ranked 12th in prestigious Food & Beverage Fast 50 report. This is the second time Around Noon has secured rank in the report after it first made the list in 2019.

With annual sales growth of 65%, Around Noon was the highest ranked Northern Ireland-based company in the listing.

Alantra has now been publishing its Fast 50 report annually for more than 15 years. It ranks the UK’s fastest-growing, privately owned food and beverage businesses on the basis of the revenue growth they have achieved over the past two years, according to their most recently published accounts.

Gareth Chambers, CEO of Around Noon, said: “Our business has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the largest producers of food-to-go on these islands and that is testament to the hard-working team we have built – one that is at the very forefront of the industry, supporting our clients to continually innovate and serve the needs of this fast-paced market.

“Our market knowledge is driving strong organic growth and we’re seizing the moment to capitalize on the momentum of our most recent acquisition to really propel growth over the next few years through significant investments in our facilities that will maintain and create new employment opportunities to further reinforce our market position.”

Charles Lanceley, managing director and Head of UK Food & Beverage at Alantra, added: “Congratulations to the Around Noon team. They have built an outstanding business and their impressive performance has rightly earned them a high ranking in the Alantra Food & Beverage Fast 50. The Fast 50 illustrates the strength of the UK’s food and drink sector, with disruptive and innovative privately-owned businesses such as Around Noon challenging the status quo, building new categories and scaling at pace. I look forward to following their progress in the years ahead.”

Around Noon employs over 800 staff across its six manufacturing facilities in Newry and London, where it produces over 4.4 million products every month which are supplied into industries including forecourt, convenience and supermarket retail, the café and coffee shop industry, contract catering, healthcare, travel, education and corporate.