Cold storage specialist Rick Bestwick is to rebrand to Magnavale after securing a substantial finance package to expand its national network.
It will roll out the parent group name following a series of mergers and acquisitions to grow the food-focused £30 million portfolio which currently includes three sites in Chesterfield, Scunthorpe and Warrington.
The team has also announced a bold new vision to become the country’s market leader in temperature-controlled storage, while adding a site in Lincolnshire and increasing capacity at existing locations.
Magnavale director Andrew Lawrence said: “The rebrand comes at a time of positive change for our business, as we’re investing heavily for the future, and both modernising and expanding our network of cold stores.
“We plan to expand two of our current sites, Chesterfield and Warrington, along with adding a new 96,000 pallet cold store being built at a site in Easton.”
At Scunthorpe, the largest site, it has six purpose-built, stand-alone coldstores offering 650,000 sq ft of warehouse space.
The Celsius Parc facility was brought into the group as one of several similar businesses unified by Magnavale, under the Rick Bestwick brand.
It was previously operated by Innovate Logistics, which went into administration in 2008. Rick Bestwick, initially as Via, took it on in 2011, acquiring three stores from Innovate Logistics, and then a further three from Yearsley in 2015.
The business brings together more than 30 years’ experience in food manufacturing with cutting edge technology and processes.
It is described as leading the sector in “automation, thought leadership and manufacturer partnership” and operates Europe’s largest microwave up-tempering facility at its Chesterfield headquarters as well as being the UK’s largest supplier of blast freezing services,
Mr Lawrence said: “At Magnavale we believe that manufacturers should be free to do what they excel at, creating the amazing products that the market demands. Therefore, we strive to facilitate a supply chain that is as short as possible, to provide a full range of services that cut cost, risk, and complication. We want our clients to think of us as reliable partners, as a collaborative extension of their own business.”
