PureMalt Products extracts £4.5m

MALT extract supplier PureMalt Products has secured a £4.5 million finance package from HSBC, enabling it to invest in state-of-the-art equipment to boost its capacity.

The firm makes malt products for some of the worlds largest brewing, food and beverage companies

The Haddington-based company, which makes malt products for some of the world’s largest brewing, food and beverage companies, said that the expansion brings its roasting on site, and creates four jobs to bring its total number of staff to 70.

The business said that its new equipment lets it ensure sec­urity of supply to its customers, boost quality control, better manage its costs and handle rising demand.

Specifically, the latest machinery at the 800-year-old mill will each year roast 6,000 tonnes of malt, which forms a key malt extract ingredient in 1,400 branded product lines.

Managing director Bruce Turner said: “It is a significant step for us to introduce roasting on site, and the state-of-the-art machinery will allow us to continue to supply Scottish ingredients of the highest quality to some of the largest brands in the world.”

He said the firm is “ambitious” and “proud of the heritage we have and the part we play in the local community”.

PureMalt Products switched its banking to HSBC from Bank of Scotland in 2012, and the latest investment comes from HSBC’s national £8 billion small and medium-sized enterprise fund, with some £400 million earmarked for Scottish firms.

Turner said the lender “fully understood and appreciated our plans to bring malt roasting in-house”.

Colin More, HSBC’s head of mid-market enterprise in Scotland, said: “This is an exciting period in the history of PureMalt Products. They have a great presence overseas, exporting to more than 50 countries, and they are banging the drum for the Scottish food industry.”