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New expansion plans for family butcher

A FAMILY pork butcher has laid down plans for expansion as part of a £1m project that will safeguard 14 jobs and create five new posts in the region.

Based in South Shields, MI Dickson Ltd has been owned and managed by the Dickson family since 1953, supplying local communities with fresh meat products.

It has grown from a single pork shop to 20 outlets across the North East, selling more than 50 tonnes of own recipe meat products each week and was awarded the accolade of the UK’s Best Family Business by Coutts Bank in June.

In a bid to diversify its business and continue to grow to meet changing consumer habits, Dicksons has developed numerous new products ranging from ready meals to premium sausages.

Now with £200,000 help from the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE), Dicksons is extending its existing bakery area in order to increase bakery production.

Michael Dickson, managing director at Dickson, said: “Our aim is to increase the market share through further expansion of our wholesale business by exploiting our proven credentials for quality, heritage and local food and we are grateful for the support from the RDPE programme to help us achieve our aims.”

Henry Roberts, chairman of Northumbria Larder, which has supported Dickson through the company’s RDPE application, said: “The expansion at Dicksons is welcome news for North East England’s food and drink sector so it is good to hear that the RDPE programme has given it its backing in what is a true regional team effort.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .