Farmfoods adds hundreds of new jobs as turnover passes £1bn for the first time

Farmfoods has added more than 200 new jobs to its team as its turnover breezed past £1bn for the first time in its history, according to newly-filed documents.

The supermarket, which is headquartered in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, increased its headcount to 4,971 in 2023, up from 4,767 in the year before, as it opened new stores across the UK.

The family-owned retailer also grew its turnover, increasing it by eight per cent to just over £1bn during the year, up from £940m in the 12 months before.

As a result Farmfoods’ pre-tax profit ticked up to just under £23m, up from £22m in 2022.

Its sales, before VAT is removed, remained at £1bn during the period, matching its 2022 figure.

Farmfoods has previously outlined expansion plans which include opening between 30 to 40 new stores per year, with a particular focus on London.

So far this year it has signed deals to open 24 new shops to its network of more than 300 sites and four distribution centres. 

Retailer weathers ‘continued cost pressures’

In a statement published to Companies House, Farmfoods said: “The group traded profitably throughout 2023, despite continued cost pressures throughout the business.

“Our core product range was enhanced through new product development while the introduction of more non-food items further expanded our offering to customers.

“The group made significant investment in opening new retail stores while also increasing capacity within its distribution function.

“The group plans to continue with this investment in shops and distribution centres in the coming year and continues to work on the ket area of development identified below whilst managing the principal risks and uncertainties faced.

“As a family owned and managed business the shareholding directors, together with the other directors, are central to the day to day running of the company and because we are a private, family owned business the long term success of the group as a whole is always at the heart of what we do.

“During the year the group opened a new ambient distribution centre close to its existing facility in the North West and began to work to expand its cold store in the Midlands.

“This investment in infrastructure together with development work being undertaken on store design is a key part of out strategy to continue to develop the business and enhance the experience of both colleagues and customers.

“There also continues to be significant focus on new product development and the growth of non-food ranges to expand our customer offerings.”

Who owns Farmfoods?

Farmfoods is a family business majority-owned by Eric Herd, Farmfoods’ CEO, who inherited his father’s Aberdeen meat processing business.

In the 1990s the company bought Capital Freezer Centres and Wallis Frozen Foods.

In 2005 it had annual sales of just over £400m, the highest of any private mid-market firm in Scotland in that year, and fourth highest in the United Kingdom.

In 2011, Farmfoods and Asda teamed up to make an unsuccessful takeover bid worth £1.4bn for fellow frozen food specialist Iceland, which would have seen the family retailer acquire 200 of its 800 stores.

In recent years Farmfoods has been opening larger stores and closing smaller ones as they expand their non-food range. The company has also taken over numerous old Aldi and Lidl supermarket sites.