Food supplier keeps delivering thanks to bank loan

Aldridge-based MKG Foods saw customer demand slump by 85 per cent when the lockdown was announced in March. The slowdown forced the business to furlough 70 of its staff, with a small team staying in work to service key accounts at care homes and schools.

The CBILS loan will be used to boost cash flow, enabling the business to maintain its overheads and meet obligations to suppliers until schools and businesses reopen fully.

MKG Foods has a turnover of £14 million a year and is one of the UK’s leading food suppliers serving care homes, schools, pubs, restaurants and football grounds across the country. It provides chilled and frozen meat, fish, dairy and store cupboard items to businesses which operate catering on their sites.

Philip Mayling, grandson of the firm’s founder and director at MKG Foods, said: “The lockdown affected most of our customers and means that we’ve experienced a much quieter period of operations, but of course we still have overheads and supplier costs to meet, regardless of what income we have coming in. This loan allows us to meet these demands and cover our staff costs.

“Our business has been operating since 1950 and we’ve been financially self-sufficient since then. With Lloyds Bank’s support we’ve been able to maintain our cash flow and focus our attention on the longer-term strategic decisions that will enable our business to bounce back in the coming months.

“As lockdown eases, we’re expecting services to schools, care homes and restaurants to resume – and are looking forward to getting back to business as usual.”

Kevin Roberts, relationship director at Lloyds Bank, said: “Philip and his team are long-standing Lloyds Bank customers and we’ve been proud to support the business over the years. While the reduced demand for services is only temporary, the business still needs to manage its cash flow and cover fixed overheads during this time. We’re glad we’ve been able to help and allow the team to concentrate on providing its essential service to care homes and schools.”

The family business has launched an online order platform to fulfil increased demand from people wanting to ‘bulk buy’ essential food items during the coronavirus crisis.

The business usually supplies for schools, hotels, restaurants, care homes and football clubs, including Birmingham City.

Following the impact of the pandemic, the independent business switched to offer home deliveries across the Midlands to cater for people struggling to get hold of their usual items due to supply shortages or being unable to leave their homes.

With the introduction of the new online ordering system, the business hopes to make buying necessities more convenient for shoppers across the Midlands and has reduced its ‘minimum order’ requirement to £50 to make its services more affordable for regional households.

A wide range of products are available to order, from fresh fruit and vegetables, to raw and cooked meats, tinned goods and staples that have proved difficult to get hold of in lockdown, like pasta, flour and toilet rolls.

Mr Mayling said: “The coronavirus pandemic meant we needed to change our approach, as many of the sectors we usually supply to have been forced to pause business due to lockdown restrictions.

“Since starting to offer home deliveries we’ve had an extremely positive response and could never have predicted how huge the demand would be from local households.

“Developing the online ordering system was the next obvious step in our expansion to make our services even more accessible and convenient for the community, and we take great pride in helping local people get the food they want when they need, at the click of a button with free delivery.”

MKG was originally founded in 1950 by Mr Mayling’s grandfather, Lewis Mayling, who initially ran a butcher’s in Yardley, Birmingham, MKG Foods has since become the UK’s leading independent food service distributor, employing 110 workers.