A Yorkshire farm is now one of the largest rhubarb producers in the UK after it received a bank fund allowing the business to expand by 122-acres.
E Oldroyd and Sons, located in the famous rhubarb triangle in West Yorkshire, has purchased neighbouring farm Castle Head, near Wakefield.
The grower supplies its product direct to Sainsbury’s supermarkets, wholesalers, restaurants and Covent Garden market.
Farm owner Janet Oldroyd will now be able to expand both the farming enterprise and rhubarb production, putting her business on a virtual national footing.
Oldroyd, who received funding from Yorkshire & Clydesdale Bank, said the farm now had 'much–needed' additional rhubarb forcing sheds to increase capacity.
"Our plans, and the Covid-19 pandemic, have put us into uncharted waters, but we were determined not to let a virus stand in the way of growth and innovation.”
E Oldroyd & Sons, which totals 900 acres after the purchase, currently produces 1000 tonnes a year of rhubarb, of which 200 tonnes are forced.
Through this expansion and investment in facilities, the business’s aim is to increase rhubarb production by 25% over the next 5 years, directly targeting some of the large UK supermarkets
The funding has also helped with the investment needed to bring the production infrastructure at Castle Head up to the standards for today’s marketplace.
A fifth generation farmer, this expansion allows Oldroyd to continue with the legacy that the family have adopted for almost a century.
Yorkshire & Clydesdale Bank said it was 'keen' to re-assure the agricultural sector that transactions like these were still taking place, despite the Covid-19 situation.
The bank's agribusiness relationship manager, Darren Smith, said the rural business landscape was not as 'bleak as it seems'.
“Janet is a very dynamic business owner and clearly knew what she wanted to accomplish for her thriving business," Mr Smith said.
"She had the vision but did not have the means to finance it so the bank was the enabler. My role was to help her every step of the way so that she could successfully expand and invest further.”
