Ready meals retailer Cook plans new kitchen following sales growth
Frozen ready meals retailer Cook on Thursday cheered higher sales and said it has signed off on plans for a new production site that will help revenues pass the £100 million mark.
The Kent-headquartered firm, which has 89 UK shops including scores in London, said it will invest £10 million to open a second kitchen to develop products in Sittingbourne in 2019.
It said that will help it grow significantly.
The expansion comes after a good period for the business in the year to March 31. Sales rose 15% to £58.3 million and pretax profits edged up slightly to £2.5 million.
During the period bestselling products included lasagne and fish pie. Vegetarian dishes were also popular.
Cook is less exposed to Brexit than some other food firms because most of its sales and its supply chain are in the UK.
Chief executive Ed Perry, who co-founded Cook in 1997, said Brexit was not the “ideal” backdrop as the company looks to expand, but he added: “When economic conditions are difficult good companies come into their own.”
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