Ingredient supplier Henley Bridge investing in growth after record year

The South Coast company said its net profit increased by 3.6% on the previous year to £25.3million, and it now has ambitious plans to target a net profit of £28.5million ($35.84m) in 2024.

Tracey Hughes, managing director of Henley Bridge, said: “As our profit figures show, 2023 was an extremely successful year for Henley Bridge, in spite of a very turbulent 12 months with huge price increases, inflation, and a very aggressive market for chocolate.

“We’re financially strong, have no debt, and are hitting all of our cashflow numbers. We aim to be even bigger and better this year.

The supplier said emphasis has been placed on developing digital sales, led by Darren Osborn, who has been appointed marketing and digital strategy director. His previous role was head of digital marketplaces for both Henley Bridge and its sister company, BFP. The marketing team has also been reinforced with three new additions.

On the sales side, three long-serving business development managers have been promoted to newly created sales roles. David Allman has been appointed key account and group account manager; Steve Carrigan has taken on the role of sales manager for the gelato and ice cream sector; and Tony Williams is the company’s new field and internal sales manager.

“Ours is a complex business working in a wide range of sectors. As we continue to grow, we’ve recognised the need to have different sales teams working specifically with each of those customer bases to maintain and service those relationships to the best of our ability,” said Hughes. “I believe we now have the structure in place to take the business to the next level.”