Fox’s mint factory sold
LASER CUTTING FIRM TAKES SITE
THE Fox’s Glacier Mint factory on the outskirts of Leicester has been sold.
County metal-working business ADS Laser Cutting said it had bought the site, on the Braunstone Frith industrial estate, to give it room for expansion.
Big Bear Confectionery, the company behind the Glacier Mint, as well as XXX Mints, Paynes Poppets and Just Brazils, revealed a year ago it was shutting the factory after deciding to set up a combined UK head office in Pontefract and Blackpool.
Staff on the city’s Braunstone Frith Industrial Estate were told parent company Valeo Foods Group was setting up a new UK confectionery division and merging Big Bear with its Tangerine Confectionery business.
More than 200 people worked there.
The original Fox’s Confectionery business launched in Leicester in 1880. By 1897 it was making 100 lines of sweets, and in 1918 launched the clear Glacier Mint.
In the years since then it has had a number of different owners, and in 2017 became part of Valeo Foods, one of Europe’s fastest-growing consumer foods producers. Its brands include Jacob’s and TUC crackers, and Rowse honey.
ADS Laser Cutting offers services such as metal laser cutting, folding, fabrication and finishing, with sites in Wigston and Bruntingthorpe, both just south of Leicester.
It was founded by brothers Duncan and Stephen Keates, and turned over £7 million in its last financial year. It has seen 20 per cent year-onyear growth over the past three years and employs more than 60 people.
The new site covers about 87,000 sq ft and will allow the business to consolidate two existing operations.
Duncan said: “The new site requires quite a bit of reconfiguration and further investment in equipment, but we are hoping to relocate during spring. We will continue to serve existing customers and gain new customers throughout the UK and are certain the relocation will not affect our production.
“We have stayed open during the pandemic by creating a Covid-safe environment for customers and staff.
“This is another step along the way towards meeting our growth ambitions and we are excited about welcoming customers here in the future and creating a new environment for our staff.”