A Tameside-based biscuit manufacturer which can trace its roots back to the 1850s has secured an additional £1.5m funding package from the Greater Manchester Investment Fund (GMIF) in a move that will create 50 jobs.
Hill Biscuits will invest the funds into new machinery to boost capacity at its Ashton-under-Lyne bakery as part of its ambitious expansion plans.
The company, which manufacturers branded and own label products for a range of retailers, has reported soaring annual sales in the last year driven by strong demand for its biscuits from various sectors of the market.
The manufacturer said the new machinery will "significantly boost production" and enable it to meet growing client demand.
Hill Biscuits managing director Steven Wetherby said the investment will allow the company to "bring forward and shorten the timescale" of the next stages of its planned investment programme.
"This will help us to keep pace with current demand for our products and also to support our future plans for further development of the business in a very competitive market," he added.
The £1.5m package is the second round of investment Hill Biscuits has secured from GMIF. In 2013 the fund, which is supported by the Government’s Regional Growth Fund, provided a £276,000 loan to the company to develop a new packaging facility.
That project has already created 59 jobs and the company anticipates the new investment will create about 50 further positions at the site, bringing the total workforce to more than 300.
Mike Blackburn, chairman of Greater Manchester LEP, said: "The company plays a major part in food manufacturing, one of the region’s strongest sectors, and this extra funding will boost its capacity further, which means more jobs for the local market and a return on investment for the wider economy."
Richard Cowan, senior associate at Pannone Corporate, advised GMIF.