Harrogate garden centre invests £4m in new food hall

Harrogate’s Crimple Garden Centre, has invested £4m to create a 20,000 square foot food hall leading to the creation of 60 jobs.

Owner Graham Watson was keen to increase the retail offering by building one of the UK’s largest food halls, featuring more than 50 specialist producers, many of whom are local. These include a butcher, bakery, fishmonger, deli & cheese counter, fruit and veg, and food to go.

In addition to his own money, Graham approached Reward Finance Group to provide an additional £1.3m working capital investment to complete the scheme.

The highly sustainable building has a saw-tooth roof, allowing for natural ventilation, with PV solar panels. In addition, climate-controlled windows keep the temperature constant saving electricity used on heating and cooling.

The refrigeration equipment has been fitted with a heat recovery system producing 1,275 litres of hot water per hour, meeting the needs of the whole building.

Speaking about the deal, David Jones, said:“Having backed Graham on a previous successful business venture, I was aware of his ability to make things work. In addition, as I live close to the site, I was more than confident that the new development would be a huge success.

“Crimple is in an excellent location on a main arterial road into Harrogate, helping to draw high visitor numbers. Therefore, the addition of a large, top quality food hall, will provide a further appeal to draw in the passing traffic, as well as attracting people from Harrogate, Leeds, Bradford, and York.

“Reward had no hesitation in providing the top up funding required to help bring the food hall to fruition. The shareholders already owned the site and were paying the majority of the build costs themselves, so it was an easy decision.”

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