Kitchen manufacturer creates 150 jobs with £4m Yorkshire Bank funding

A West Yorkshire kitchen manufacturer has launched a new factory and created 150 jobs due to a £4m funding package from Yorkshire Bank.

Pontefract-based Ultima Kitchens has received a £2.7m funding package to acquire machinery that will improve efficiencies and enable the introduction of new products.

The deal was delivered by Jeremy Bowers, relationship manager at the Bank’s North Yorkshire Business and Private Banking Centre.

Established in Barnsley more than 3 decades ago, Ultima was founded by Alf and Clare Ellis. After receiving requests to supply friends and family with the same kitchen the couple built themselves, they launched their own business.

Ultima, which now employs more than 170 staff across two units in Pontefract, is planning to double annual turnover from more than £25m to in excess of £50m.

With further support of a £1.3m funding package from Yorkshire Bank, the business also acquired a 151,000sq ft former factory in the Sherburn-in-Elmet industrial estate, giving it the space it requires to develop a new product range. The facility, which is creating 150 jobs, boasts the most automated assembly lines of its kind in the UK.

Alf Ellis said: “Our new site and machinery has enabled us to extend our product range and grow our customer base by providing greater choice. Our equipment will also help us to remain competitive in the quality kitchen marketplace.

“We are grateful to Yorkshire Bank for recognising and supporting this growth opportunity and we look forward to working in partnership with its knowledgeable team.”

Rick Warburton, head of Yorkshire Bank’s North Yorkshire business and private banking centre, added: “Ultima Kitchens is a strong family-run business led by an ambitious and dynamic management team. The company’s expansion plans, including the creation of new jobs, highlight the crucial role businesses are playing in the improving economic recovery.

“We are proud to be providing the support which will enable Ultima Kitchens to continue growing and supporting the local economy.”

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