Soft drinks producer Highland Spring is hoping a £20 million investment in its Perthshire headquarters can quench demand for its bottled water.
Soft drinks producer Highland Spring is hoping a £20 million investment in its Perthshire headquarters can quench demand for its bottled water.
The firm said the planned eight-figure investment would see an extension added to its existing manufacturing facility at Blackford and a new production line installed.
Planning documents for the project are expected to be lodged with Perth and Kinross Council in the coming days.
They follow an application to add a rail halt at the site to aid distribution.
In 2014 the group retained its position as the UK’s number one water brand, producing around 470 million litres of bottled drinks.
That figure could push past 500m litres this year, and the company said the proposed new production line would add a further 250m litres of capacity.
However, that will not all be used instantly but will be gradually brought on as the market continues to expand.
“The UK bottled water market has been in double-digit growth for the past three years,” group chief executive Les Montgomery said.
“We almost put an extension on at Blackford 10 years ago but we bought a business down at Lennoxtown instead.
“But we are now back looking at Blackford and, assuming all goes well, we will start building in early spring next year with a view to completion in late autumn.”
Details of the Blackford plan came as the firm revealed sales topped £100m in the year to December 31, 2014.
Adjusting for a historic VAT issue, underlying operating profit in the period increased by £800,000 to £3.9m.
The figures are from the full-year accounts, which were being lodged yesterday and are expected to be published at Companies House in the coming days.
Mr Montgomery said seeing sales surpass the £100m mark was a significant milestone for the business.
He said 2015 was shaping up “extremely well”, and the outlook for the business was also good as the market trend continued to favour healthier drinking choices
“Our long-term business strategy remains firmly focused on continuing to be the UK’s leading supplier of natural sourced waters, as well as developing our product portfolio including private label business in plain and flavoured waters,” Mr Montgomery said.
“We will continue to invest profits back into the business to ensure long-term sustainable growth.”