Sandwich and snack firm bites into £1.5m

Newry based sandwich, salad and snack maker, Around Noon has completed a £1.5 million loan.

The company, which employs 330 people at its headquarters in Newry and a manufacturing site in Slough in the South of England, supplies customers across the UK and Ireland, including airports, event companies and coffee shop chains, all of which have closed in the recent lockdown.

The company says it has experienced a 70% fall in projected turnover in the next three months. The Barclays loan funding will support cash flow, allowing Around Noon to pay over 100 local suppliers and to support salaries for any staff who have not been furloughed.

Gareth Chambers, CEO at Around Noon said: “We are a fast growing, award-winning business, with facilities in both Northern Ireland and England. We manufacture Sandwiches, Salads and ‘Food to Go’ products, for sectors including Travel, Hospitality, Convenience and Coffee. This year, we were targeting a sales turnover of £30 million, however, in the space of 2 weeks, sales dropped dramatically, due to the impact of coronavirus.

“Having also just won a number of new contracts worth several million pounds, which are now on hold, we have had to furlough a significant number of staff and reduce production days. We want to make sure we continue to pay our suppliers and staff during the period of this pandemic. We work closely with over 100 companies across the UK and Ireland and this money will ensure we are in a position to make timely payments to these suppliers over the next few months, many of whom are also severely impacted by this event.

“Barclays have been really supportive. They worked very closely with us to help us move quickly to secure this loan. The CBIL finance has given us significant breathing space. We have a fantastic team of willing people and we are staying open during the crisis to “feed the nation” on both sides of the Irish Sea. This loan will help us stay in the game and come back stronger.”

Barclays Relationship Director, John Mathers, added: “The impact of coronavirus on Around Noon was significant and we had to act fast. They got in touch with us at an early stage and we worked closely with them to understand the situation and how we could help. Our Credit Risk team was supportive and prompt, meaning the loan was agreed less than two days after the scheme opened.”

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