3 min read - 20 May, 2026
Cranswick eyes further growth as investment hits record £163m
Food producer Cranswick is investing £56m to increase fresh poultry processing capacity at its Eye facility in Suffolk. It is part of a record £163m investment programme, its highest-ever annual capital expenditure, that underscores the company’s push to scale domestic food production.
The investment, which adds a second processing line at the Suffolk site, will grow total capacity by a further 25 per cent by summer 2027. Combined with an earlier automation programme already underway — which will increase processing capacity by 15 per cent — the Eye facility will be capable of processing almost double the number of birds per week compared to projections when it was first commissioned in late 2019. The phased expansion is designed to create headroom for both fresh and added-value poultry ranges as consumer demand continues to outpace domestic supply.
The announcement is part of a broader pipeline of major strategic capital projects completed or progressed during the year. These include the £30m expansion of cooked and breaded poultry facilities in Hull, adding capacity and capability to support new premium retail contracts, and the completion of a £27m hummus facility in Worsley that provides a scalable platform for the company’s Mediterranean foods category.
A multi-phase £100m expansion of Hull’s pork primary processing facility is also on track, with a new highly automated cold store now being commissioned. The company expects a 40 per cent capacity lift at the Hull pork site following its financial year ending March 2027.
Cranswick is committing a further £56m of investment to expand capacity at its Suffolk fresh poultry facility by an additional 25% / Picture: Cranswick
Cranswick reported revenue of £2.98bn for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2026, up from £2.72bn the previous year. UK food revenue grew by 9.4%, underpinned by strong volume growth of 8.3% and record Christmas trading. The poultry segment saw revenues jump 13.9%, now representing over a fifth of total group sales, while the gourmet and pet product divisions surged 15.3% and 29.8%, respectively.
Over the past five years, Cranswick has invested more than £560m across its asset base — a figure that speaks to a deliberate, capital-intensive strategy to strengthen vertical integration and manufacturing capability. The company is expected to continue investing at approximately 50 per cent of adjusted EBITDA, positioning manufacturing capacity expansion as a core lever for long-term competitive advantage rather than a short-term response to demand.
Adam Couch, chief executive, said: “We have continued to invest with conviction across our industry-leading asset base, farming operations and in complementary acquisitions, strengthening capability, expanding capacity and creating further headroom for sustainable growth.”
The Eye facility’s capacity gains are being driven substantially by automation rather than footprint expansion alone — a model that reflects wider trends in food manufacturing as producers seek to reduce labour dependency while improving throughput and consistency.
Beyond poultry, Cranswick’s recently acquired businesses are also being integrated into its manufacturing network. Blakemans, which strengthens its position in the food service sausage market, and JSR Genetics, which deepens its vertically integrated agricultural model across pork operations, are both reported to be performing strongly and integrating well.
The search for a second fresh poultry site — separate from Eye — continues, with feasibility studies at several locations ongoing. The company says it has the balance sheet and management capacity to execute once a suitable site is secured, suggesting further significant capital commitments lie ahead.
