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The Gluten Free Kitchen trebles the size of its business following six-figure NPIF funding

Press release 26 November 2024

The Gluten Free Kitchen has trebled the size of its business after completing its successful move to new premises at Leyburn Business Park in Leyburn, North Yorkshire. 

The increase in space at the new 3,000 sq ft unit has led to sales almost doubling, enabling the team at The Gluten Free Kitchen to meet rising demand for its range of high quality sweet and savoury gluten free, wheat free, soya free, dairy free, egg free food. This includes a delicious new festive range which has just launched, including Christmas puddings and mince pies as well as launching four new products with Ocado: chocolate crunch cakes, strawberry crunch cakes, goats cheese tarts and cheddar tarts.

The Gluten Free Kitchen received investment from FW Capital through the first Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund in 2023 and is now seeing their plans come to fruition. The funding allowed the business to relocate after outgrowing its previous site. The new premises include kitchen and warehouse facilities. The funding has also supported the expansion of the team and development of new product ranges including the products made exclusively for Ocado.  It has also assisted the redevelopment of The Gluten Free Kitchen website making it easier for customers to place their online orders.

Sue Fleming, Director at The Gluten Free Kitchen said: 

We’d never have done the move without FW Capital and we’re delighted to be in our new premises. Our previous site was fit to burst, and we just didn’t have the space to meet increased demand and expand our ranges of treats. We’ve nearly doubled sales since we’ve relocated and brought in new people to support our kitchen and warehouse activities. Next year we’re hoping to further expand the team. We’re now in the midst of the Christmas run-up and excited to launch a fantastic new Christmas Pudding using a great recipe. We’re also going great guns with Ocado which is fantastic. The investment from FW Capital has also helped us to update our website, making it more user friendly for consumers.

Lindsey McMenamin, Portfolio Manager at FW Capital added: 

I’m thrilled with the success that Sue and the team at The Gluten Free Kitchen are enjoying, and it is great to see the impact funding for growth can have. Its super to catch up with Sue and see all the exciting developments! It’s a busy time for the team in the run up to Christmas with the demand for ‘free from’ products increasing, and this new facility is allowing them to take full advantage of that!

The Gluten Free Kitchen was established in 2005 by Sue Fleming after she saw the challenges faced by people with coeliac disease when sourcing good quality food that is free from gluten.  Sue began to experiment with a series of recipes and created dishes which are today available from The Gluten Free Kitchen’s online store. A selection of products are also available in a number of Waitrose Stores, online at Ocado, as well as independent outlets and farm shops throughout the UK.  The product range includes ‘free from’ cakes, puddings, and savoury pies.

The funding was from NPIF – FW Capital Debt Finance, which was managed by FW Capital and part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.

It provided loans in the NPIF region with a focus on Cumbria, Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Merseyside and the Tees Valley. The British Business Bank has since launched the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II in March 2024.

The new £660m Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIFII) covers the entire North of England and provides loans from £25k to £2m and equity investment up to £5m to help a range of small and medium sized businesses to start up, scale up or stay ahead.

The Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II will increase the supply and diversity of early-stage finance for the North’s smaller businesses, providing funds to firms that might otherwise not receive investment and help to break down barriers in access to finance.  FW Capital will provide debt finance options from £100,000 to £2million to businesses based in the North West of England. NPIF II - FW Capital Debt Finance can provide loans in the NPIF II area with a primary focus on the North West regions of Cheshire, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Merseyside.

Further Information

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Notes to editors

About the British Business Bank

The British Business Bank is the UK government’s economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to drive sustainable growth and prosperity across the UK and to enable the transition to a net zero economy, by improving access to finance for smaller businesses. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government.

The British Business Bank’s core programmes support over £17.4bn 1  of finance to almost 64,000 2   smaller businesses.

As well as increasing the supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of finance options available to smaller businesses. The British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to businesses about finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. 

The British Business Bank is also responsible for administering the government’s three Coronavirus loan schemes and its Future Fund, together responsible for delivering £80.4bn in finance to 1.67m businesses. These schemes are now closed to new applications.

British Business Bank plc is a public limited company registered in England and Wales, registration number 08616013, registered office at Steel City House, West Street, Sheffield, S1 2GQ. Wholly owned by HM government, the Bank and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at british-business-bank.co.uk.

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