Pukka Pies is set to make a further £4.5m investment to enhance manufacturing capacity and capability at its Syston bakery in Leicestershire.

The investment was announced as the company revealed annual figures to May 2020 showing turnover rising to £53.1m and profit up 13.5% to £4.1m.

It reflects another successful year despite an impact on its foodservice division due to Covid-19, said the company.

“Our announcement of continued investment in the Syston Bakery will further reinforce Pukka’s position as a key employer in the region with local people being at the heart of our success and future vision,” said Deborah Ewan, CEO at Pukka.

Pukka has continued to focus on sustainability across the bakery with 100% of its electrical supply now generated from renewable schemes accredited by regulator OFGEM. This followed the introduction of fully recyclable plastic free packaging across its chilled supermarket range in 2020.

“Despite all the turmoil in the market, our ambition hasn’t changed. We want to put more pies on more plates more often and that means a significant investment to ensure we are enhancing the capability and capacity of our bakery,” she added.

“We are still looking for ways to innovate and improve our business to make sure we are giving the people of Britain what they want. We have exciting plans for 2021 and are confident that Pukka will continue to grow for many years to come.”

The business, which employs 377 people in Leicestershire, was started by husband and wife Trevor and Valerie Storer almost 60 years ago, selling their signature steak and kidney pie to pubs and fish and chip shops.

Still owned by the Storer family, it has grown into a national brand, producing a range featuring everything from steak and ale to chicken and mushroom and minced beef and onion.

It typically bakes around 180,000 pies, sausage rolls and pastries every day and in normal times supplies more than 35 million pies a year.