Merseyside family-owned fresh produce firm Nationwide Produce secures £3.5m loan to expand warehouse capacity by 75%. Tony McDonough reports

Fresh produce grower, importer and exporter Nationwide Produce has secured a £3.5m loan from Lloyds Bank to expand its warehouse capacity by 75%.

Family-owned Nationwide, which started out as Bernard O’Malley & Sons almost 50 years ago, is based in Southport town centre. Bernard and his three sons are all directors and remain actively involved in the running of the company.

It works across the entire fresh food supply chain – growing, grading, packing, trading, importing, and exporting fresh produce, including vegetables and fruits, from around the world.

In the 12 months to May 27,2022, Nationwide reported a big rise in turnover to £143.7m and a pre-tax profit of £1.7m. It operates from storage and distribution depots in Evesham in the West Midlands, Kent, Belfast, Rotterdam and Almeria in Spain.

Employing 165 people, it also farms 550 acres of land in East Anglia, producing root crops.

Thanks to the Lloyds Bank funding package, Nationwide was able to expand its warehouse in Evesham by 75% from 32,000 sq ft to 56,000 sq ft, allowing much more stock to be stored.

And, as part of its net zero ambitions, the business has also used the funding to build five temperature-controlled chambers. They offer greater cooling efficiency and therefore emit fewer greenhouse gases. 

This technology will improve cooling performance and increase energy efficiency in the business by up to 15%. Solar panels have also been installed at the warehouse.

This grows its total renewable electricity offering by almost two thirds and brings capacity up to 500kW across the company’s facilities.

Now, the business is planning to expand its product range to include frozen foods, as well as investing in new packing machinery to enhance its offerings and further increase its appeal to its customers.

Tim O’Malley, group managing director at Nationwide, said: “As a global importer, and UK and EU exporter, we are seeing a rise in demand for fresh produce from customers across all sectors of the market.

“Last year, our turnover was above pre-pandemic levels at £143 million and we’re already set to see a record-breaking turnover of £185m this year as we meet demand for increased volume.

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“The new warehouse space will be vital in helping maximise this opportunity for growth by helping us work more efficiently, improve and expand our product line, and ultimately, provide our customers with an even better service.”

Nationwide is also diverting surplus food to its charity partner, Fareshare. Over the course of its three-year partnership, the company has donated more than 500,000 meals to 3,825 charities across the UK, a total of 217 tonnes of surplus food.