Wholesale food and drinks supplier Giorgio’s Continental is widening its product range and taking on more staff thanks to a £2.5m investment in its site and a £1m bank funding package.

Giorgio’s counts Greencore, Bakkavor, one of the largest pub chains in the UK and Italian chef Gino D’Acampo’s restaurants among its clients.

The Italian and continental food supplier has grown sales since forming 1964 to close to £30m, with profits of £3m in 2015, according to the latest available accounts.

Giorgio’s has recently rebranded to GCL Food Ingredients as part of a move to position the business as a premium food ingredients supplier.

The £1m funding from Santander Corporate & Commercial will be used to expand the value-added product range within the industrial and food service sectors. GCL has also invested £2.5m to build a food processing factory as an extension to its existing site, with ten more staff taken on and more planned.

MD Salvatore Devivo said: “GCL Food Ingredients aims to work closely with both our customers and suppliers to create a true food chain partnership. We look to bring the food development teams together to work not only on innovation and market trends but to help inspire the next generation of meals to consumers.

“Giorgio’s has invested significantly in the future of our business to enable us to add real value to the products we sell and to enable us to develop new routes to market within the food service sector.”

Stephen Young, relationship director at Santander Corporate & Commercial, added: “We have worked with Giorgio’s for the last five years and in that time have seen the business go from strength to strength. They have carved out a market for themselves as a provider of quality food ingredients which are recognised in their impressive client list.”

Tony Tudino, son of founder Giorgio Tudino, is the majority shareholder of GCL, with Devivo running the business along with other family members.