West Suffolk fine food supplier Infusions has moved to larger premises and created three new jobs following a six-figure funding deal with Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Infusions was established in 2002 by Lou Jackaman and her husband John and now employs 27 members of staff, delivering directly to restaurants and hotels throughout East Anglia.

In 2008, they also launched Infusions4chefs.co.uk – an online shop supplying ingredients and tools to chefs and home cooks all over the world.

In order to purchase two new warehouses on the same site as their existing unit, on the Rougham Industrial Estate, near Bury St Edmunds, Lou and John approached Lloyds which, in addition to agreeing a six figure loan, helped the couple secure a further five figure grant through the Government-back Regional Growth Fund.

John Jackaman said: “We’re so pleased with how Infusions has grown over the years. Running our own business was always a long-term aim for us both. We owe much of our success to hard work, dedication, and our amazing Infusions team.

“Of course, we have no intention of slowing down and continued expansion is incredibly important for us – particularly as we have so many new ideas and developments we want to see come to fruition.

“With that growth ambition in mind, it was crucial that we expanded our warehouse space to create extra capacity and make room for more staff.”

Following the move to the new premises, Lou and John are in the process of setting up their first on-site food trade counter, as well as a cookery school for both qualified chefs and budding amateur cooks.

Daren Watson, relational management at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Infusion is a brilliantly ambitious business and Lou and John really impressed me with their detailed business plan. They made a very clear case for why the new warehouses would be fundamental in aiding their growth and we were keen to help them make their plans a reality.

“We want to make sure all of our customers have access to as many useful resources as possible so we regularly take advantage of government backed initiatives, like the Regional Growth Fund. We also offer all our SME customers loans under the Lloyds Funding for Lending scheme, where they benefit from a one per cent discount for the duration of their funding.”

Lou added: “Working with Daren was incredibly useful during this process as, not only was he able to provide us with sound business support and guidance, but he also helped us secure even more funding than we initially anticipated.

“We’d heard of the Regional Growth Fund but we assumed we wouldn’t be eligible for it, so if it wasn’t for Daren and the relationship team, we might never have accessed the funding that has enabled us to achieve so much.”