News: Approved Food on Dragons' Den

Approved Food, a Sheffield firm that has expanded four times in six years, failed to secure investment on BBC's Dragons' Den but vowed: "We'll get 'em next time."

In an experience they described as "horrendous," "painful," "excruciating," and "a bit traumatic," directors Dan Cluderay and Andy Needham secured the chance of three minutes to pitch their business ideas to five multi-millionaires willing to invest their own cash. The episode was filmed in May when the firm was still based at the North Anston Trading Estate in Dinnington, Rotherham.

Cluderay started the business six years ago as a side-line to his small market stall, operating from the garage and based in his back bedroom. The online service offers deals that no supermarket can compete with by selling over 1,000 long dated, short dated or out of date "best before" products from many well-loved brands. It now has 50 staff helping thousands of customers save up to 70% off their food bills.

The pitch, which aired last night, saw the directors ask for a £150,000 investment in return for a 10% stake in the business. An impromptu market trader pitch from Dan got Dragon Peter Jones interested, as did discussion over the unique target market of savvy shoppers. Fellow Dragon, Duncan Bannatyne was interested in investing but had question marks over the small profit margins and value of the business. Deborah Meaden talked about the directors taking risks and the indebtedness in the business.

Recognising the passion for the business and the value of reducing food waste, the Dragons were unanimous that the pair "had got something," but in the end no offer was forthcoming. Peter Jones left the door open for investing further down the line.

Speaking immediately after leaving the Den, Dan Cluderay (pictured, left), said: "It's not the right time for them but I bet we can get them in the future!"

Since moving to Dinnington in 2010, the company grew quickly. In 2012 UK Steel Enterprise Ltd and Finance Yorkshire put together an undisclosed finance package to enable Approved Food to invest further to underpin the company's rapid growth. In October, after the visit to the Den, Approved Food, expanded into a 60,000 sq ft warehouse on Parkway Close just off The Parkway in Sheffield.

The company delivered over 110,000 orders last year with a turnover in excess of £4m.

Approved Food

Images: BBC

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News: Approved Food expand again

Online discount food and drink retailer, Approved Food, has completed its move into larger premises, the fourth time the company has expanded since launching in 2009.

The online service offers deals that no supermarket can compete with by selling over 1,000 long dated, short dated or out of date "best before" products from many well-loved brands.

Since moving to premises on the North Anston Trading Estate in Dinnington, Rotherham in 2010, the company continued to grow quickly. In 2012 UK Steel Enterprise Ltd and Finance Yorkshire put together an undisclosed finance package to enable Approved Food to invest further to underpin the company's rapid growth. It has now taken on a 60,000 sq ft warehouse on Parkway Close just off The Parkway in Sheffield.

Dan Cluderay started the business six years ago as a side-line to his small market stall, operating from the garage and based in his back bedroom. It now has 50 staff helping thousands of customers save up to 70% off their food bills. The company delivered over 110,000 orders last year with a turnover in excess of £4m.

Knight Frank secured the five year lease for landlord MCR after works were undertaken to bring the 1980s premises up to standard. Approved Food will be paying £176,000 pa in rent.

Andy Needham, director at Approved Food, said: "Occupying premises such as this means we can now satisfy a greater demand across the UK. It will also allow us to significantly expand our product range and add further on-line shops to expand our market for example in confectionery, pet products, continental foods and gluten free products. We were extremely pleased with the efforts of the Knight Frank team."

Approved Food website

Images: Knight Frank

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News: Finance Yorkshire pass £20m mark

Finance Yorkshire has invested more than £23m across Yorkshire, the Humber and North and North East Lincolnshire.

The figure amounts to 224 investments in 183 small and medium sized enterprises since August 2010, leading to more than 4,600 jobs created and safeguarded in the region.

Finance Yorkshire provides seedcorn, loan and equity linked investments, ranging from £15,000 to £2m. It has attracted £30m investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), £15m from Yorkshire Forward's Single Programme, and £45m match funding from the European Investment Bank.

In the last quarter alone, the venture capital and loan fund completed 30 investments totaling more than £4.3m.

Alex McWhirter, chief executive of Finance Yorkshire, said: "These are some great results and we are looking forward to building on these figures and helping more companies and employees achieve growth in the coming months.

"We urge established and early stage companies and their professional advisers to continue to speak to us to see if Finance Yorkshire can help turn their ambitions into a reality."

A number of Rotherham companies have secured funding through Finance Yorkshire, enabling them to grow and create more local jobs. Companies include; online discount food and drink retailer, Approved Food; S3 ID, the UK's market-leading provider of innovative location awareness solutions; Industrial Battery & Charger Services Ltd (IBCS); clean technology company, Sterecycle; Labfacility, a leading manufacturer of temperature sensors for industry; and Xeros Limited, an innovative company developing a virtually waterless washing machine.

Finance Yorkshire website

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News: Finance deal feeds Approved Food's appetite for growth

Rotherham-based online discount food and drink retailer, Approved Food, plans to double its size and triple the number of employees to meet growing customer demand.

The online service offers deals that no supermarket can compete with by selling over 1,000 long dated, short dated or out of date "best before" products from many well-loved brands.

Since moving to premises on the North Anston Trading Estate in Dinnington, Rotherham in 2010, the company has continued to grow quickly. Turnover is expected to hit £10m by the end of the 2013 financial year.

Substantial investment in new technology and increased staffing levels has seen the company boost market share and an undisclosed finance package provided by UK Steel Enterprise Ltd and Finance Yorkshire will enable the company to invest further to underpin the company's rapid growth.

Keith Williams, regional manager for UK Steel Enterprise said: "Dan and his co-Director Andy Needham have created a great business that has the potential to be a big player in a niche market. It has already created much needed new jobs and looks set to become a substantial employer in South Yorkshire and beyond.

"The can-do attitude of the management and other staff inspired us with confidence and the figures speak for themselves; we really believe that this company is going places and look forward to working with them over the coming years."

Andy Needham, director at Approved Food, added: "We have a unique combination of technical skills and sourcing experience and have invested heavily in ensuring we have firm foundations in place to go to the next level. We are delighted that Finance Yorkshire and UK Steel Enterprise have recognised the work that has taken place so far and have come on board as partners to assist in the next stage of growth.

"The savings we can offer our customers are substantial and now we have the funding, we believe that everything is in place to allow us to really accelerate growth, customer share and save even more households money in these testing times."

Although nothing is ever sold past its "use by" date, products that are past their "best before" date are perfectly fine to consume and very few people are able to tell the difference. Buying goods this way is not only good value, but also helps reduce the amount of food waste by making use of products that supermarkets are otherwise ready to throw away.

Dan Cluderay, founder director of Approved, said: "Times are tough for the British housewife struggling to make ends meet in the recession but we are here to help with our big shopping basket. 13,000 new customers joined us in the first quarter of this year, that's an average of 250 new shoppers a week and there is no sign of demand shrinking – which is why we needed the funding to allow us to take on more people etc.

"We have already set on 20 new employees this year and expect to take on another 20 before next Christmas. By the same time in 2013 we expect to have tripled our workforce."

Approved Food website

UK Steel Enterprise website

Finance Yorkshire website

Images: Finance Yorkshire

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News: Approved Food shows appetite for growth

Online discount food and drink retailer, Approved Food has seen orders increase by 115%, turnover double and 15 new jobs created since expanding into new premises in Dinnington, Rotherham.

The online service offers deals that no supermarket can compete with by selling over 1,000 long dated, short dated or out of date "best before" products from many well-loved brands.

With over 25,000 customers, the business now processes over 1,500 orders a week, delivering a vast range of cut price groceries to homes across the UK.

Dan Cluderay, founder of Approved Food said: "The appetite for cheap food and drink continues to grow and as news of our offering spreads, more and more consumers are turning to us to stock up on their cupboard essentials.

"The first half of this year has surpassed our expectations with a huge number of new and returning customers filling their baskets with us. The economic climate has made our offering particularly attractive, especially to families looking for ways to save money in the household."

A rapid increase in traffic and orders to the website meant the business needed to find a larger base from which to operate to ensure the smooth running of deliveries was maintained. Approved Food moved from Worksop to a 20,000 sq ft warehouse on North Anston Trading Estate.

Dan added: "As the business continued to expand, servicing such a high volume of orders from our old premises became increasingly challenging. The new warehouse has provided us with the modern and spacious facilities we need to increase our stock levels and packing resources, enabling us to increase our workforce and improve our overall efficiency."

Although nothing is ever sold past its "use by" date, products that are past their "best before" date are perfectly fine to consume and very few people are able to tell the difference. Buying goods this way is not only good value, but also helps reduce the amount of food waste by making use of products that supermarkets are otherwise ready to throw away.

In addition to a vast range of food and drink products, the website features additional lines in pet food, cleaning products and toiletries.

Approved Food website

Images: Approved Food

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