Animal feed manufacturer eyes European expansion following Boost support
A fourth-generation family-run business in South Ribble that manufactures and distributes animal feed and bird food mixtures has its sights set on expanding its export markets after receiving a range of funded support through Boost and its support partners.
R&E Bamford, located in Leyland, and founded over 100 years ago, employs 53 people. The company already has export markets in Ireland and Kuwait but is looking to expand its brands across Europe, including its premium ‘Top Flight’ brand.
The firm’s trade sales manager, Elin Lloyd, who joined the business 10 years ago in an administration role, now leads the trade sales side of the business. With a vision to make 2024 the year Bamford’s launched its international growth strategy, Elin initially contacted the Department of Business and Trade (DBT) for export advice.
She was introduced to the Women’s International Networking (WIN) pilot, a DBT programme exclusively designed for female-led businesses and entrepreneurs. Through the programme Elin met Lynne Gillen, trade partnerships manager at DBT, who introduced Elin to Boost; Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub.
Elin said: “Exporting is a major decision for our business and part of the challenge to getting started is knowing how to seek the right avenues for growth. The big advantage about getting support is there is always someone out there who knows more than you on any topic, you just need to find them.
Boost is Lancashire’s Business Growth Hub and is led by Lancashire County Council. It has received £2.6m from the UK Government for its current programme of business support through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund contributions of ten local authorities in Lancashire, in addition to funds from Lancashire County Council and the Department for Business and Trade.
Boost’s mission is to help Lancashire businesses thrive and since 2013, it has supported over 14,000 businesses, helping create 3,500 jobs while adding £100m to the local economy. It offers a range of funded business support services and a team of business advisers Lancashire businesses can talk to.
Boost’s Business Advice Service met with Elin carried out a diagnostic overview of the company and determined that Bamford’s vision to scale the business through export markets made it suitable to join Boost’s Scale to Thrive service, which supports ambitious leaders who want to scale up and push ahead on innovation, investment, and internationalisation.
It offers one-to-one personalised support (in-person and virtual), coaching sessions, workshops, and peer-to-peer networking.
As well as the peer group and coaching sessions, Boost’s Scale to Thrive service provides action learning masterclasses on different topics. Elin split the attendance at the masterclasses over the relevant team members at Bamfords, making it a company-wide resource involving all the team.
Elin said: “The Scale to Thrive service has been brilliant. Everyone in the cohort has turns to share their insights and challenges during the team workshops. I then review what’s been suggested for Bamfords, consider the ideas presented and decide if I can implement them.
“I’m gaining confidence all the time, but before the Scale to Thrive service I had nothing to benchmark it against, so it is helping me to make the right decisions.”
Councillors recently visited R&E Bamford at their base in Leyland
Lynne Gillen also introduced Elin to South Ribble Borough Council, which provided Elin with helpful advice regarding Bamford’s export plans and secured funded export training sessions for Elin with North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce.
The council was also able to offer financial support to upskill the Bamford team and to help the business become more energy efficient through the council’s BEE scheme and training grants currently on offer to businesses in South Ribble and funded by UK Government.
Backed by the wealth of support, Bamfords has now attended several trade shows in Europe in 2024 to help expand its international presence. The working relationship with the Chamber’s export specialists also helped Elin ship products to the trade events in Europe.
Since attending the trade shows Bamfords has received a number strong leads. Elin and her team are now liaising with distributors to create potential new markets in Europe and the Middle East. Having secured their first order from the trade show leads, Bamfords will be shipping products to Maastricht, southeastern Netherlands, in the next few months.
Cllr Carole Haythornthwaite, lead member for economic growth and environment, Lancashire County Council, said:
“With a long history serving the public, businesses and now the export market, Elin and the team at Bamfords are clearly enterprising, innovative and ambitious to keep their business growing.
“I am delighted to see this example of business support providers working together to make sure businesses get the support they need and to make the best of opportunities they get. In this case to grow and expand into export while still providing an attentive, individual service locally.”
South Ribble Councillor and cabinet member for economic growth, planning and investment, Ian Watkinson, said:
“It is fantastic to see how the support offered to businesses in the borough is benefiting a thriving and historic company such as Bamfords.
“This demonstrates how a package of support from our local authority and its partners helps to drive growth in businesses of any size, and subsequently grow our local economy as well.”
Elin added: “The DBT, South Ribble Borough Council and Boost, have really opened doors for me, to help us scale the business. I would highly recommend seeking support to any scaling business in Lancashire, we are very fortunate to have such a wealth of connected support offerings and programmes to choose from across the county.”
*This news release was issued by Freshfield PR on behalf of Boost, Lancashire's business growth hub
Notes to editors
For further information, contact the Boost media office at Freshfield (01772 888400):
- Joel Durkin | joel@freshfield.com
- Jacqueline Ballard | jacqueline@freshfield.com
- Niamh Heron | niamh@freshfield.com
About Boost:
Led by Lancashire County Council, supported by Government and ten local authorities, Boost is Lancashire's Business Growth Hub, one of 37 Growth Hubs in the UK.
Boost’s mission is to help Lancashire businesses thrive.
Since 2013, Boost has supported over 14,000 businesses, helping create 3,500 jobs while adding £100m to the local economy.
From September 1 2023, Boost is funded by Lancashire County Council, Department for Business & Trade (DBT), and UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) allocations from ten Lancashire local authorities (Boost local authorities partners). UKSPF is part of the Levelling Up agenda and succession to EU structural funds.
Boost’s local authority partners are Blackburn with Darwen Council, Burnley Council, Chorley Council, Fylde Council, Hyndburn Borough Council, Pendle Borough Council, Preston City Council, South Ribble Borough Council, West Lancashire Borough Council and Wyre Council.
Boost offers six core services including:
- Business Support Helpdesk: A service that offers advice and guidance on available local, national and sector business support.
- Business Advice Service: A service that matches a business with an adviser and includes a business review, a business support action plan, business clinics and regular updates.
- Growth Catalyst: A service to help established businesses ready to take their business to the next level.
- Scale to Thrive: An exclusive service for businesses over £1m turnover looking to scale 20% year on year.
- Flying Start: A service that helps people start a new business or grow a young business.
- Access to Finance: A service that helps businesses find and secure the finance and funding they need.
Boost also provides an online directory of all funded business support available to Lancashire businesses, as well as an event directory, a knowledge hub and information about private sector business support.
The Business Support Helpdesk offers advice and guidance to anyone thinking of starting a business and all new and existing businesses in Lancashire. The Helpdesk provides information on local, national and sector programmes, and funding support help businesses start, grow and scale. The Business Support Helpdesk is available to businesses across all Lancashire local authorities.
Businesses located in the ten Boost local authority partner areas are eligible for the Business Advice Service, Flying Start, Growth Catalyst, Scale to Thrive and Access to Finance.
The Boost business support services will be delivered by a number of specialist local and national business support organisations including Growth Lancashire, Selnet and the Growth Company, with Lancashire County Council delivering the Access to Finance service.
The Growth Hubs across England are designed to provide local businesses of any size or sector with access to advice and support via an impartial, funded, single point of contact. They bring together national and local support from across the public and private sectors to help businesses find the right support for their needs, at the right time, at any stage of the business journey.