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A US supplier of American sweet potatoes has set up shop in the UK. Scott Farms Inc, a fourth generation family-run business, has established Scott Farms UK at Honeybourne near Evesham in Worcestershire.

The UK arm of Scott Farms will be led by Simon Hobbs and Darren Smith. The move to the Midlands enables Scott Farms to distribute its produce across the UK. 

The Coventry branch of AIB provided UK banking and debt facilities. James Hunt, corporate banking senior manager, added: “We are happy to be assisting Scott Farms in their introduction to the UK market, and look forward to assisting with their planned expansion.”

Corporate finance and business development consultancy Century 2000 was lead adviser to Scott, while the company’s legal adviser was Worcester-based Harrison Clark.

Century 2000 provided market research, business plans and operational advice. Its managing director, Stan Smith, has also been appointed head of finance and company secretary of Scott Farms UK, representing the Scott family’s interests.

Smith said: “Scott Farms will ship 2,500 tonnes of sweet potatoes in its first season, supplying 10% of all sweet potatoes in the UK. We have plans to double this to 5,000 tonnes in our second year of operation.

“As well as sweet potatoes, Scott Farms UK now also imports fine beans, sugar snaps and mange tout from Kenya as well as asparagus from Mexico, Peru and the USA. More exotic vegetables and locally grown produce will follow soon.”

Robert Capper, head of the commercial department at Harrison Clark, added: “We were pleased to support Scott Farms entering the UK market. The firm acts for a growing number of international clients as well as local, regional and national businesses. Our experience in acting for overseas clients coupled with the range of services we offer was key to us being appointed.”

For Dewey Scott of Scott Farms, the move overseas demanded external support. “Setting up a company in the UK was much harder for us than we expected,” he said. “By having an adviser on the ground we were able to handle the red tape associated with overseas organisations.”

Based in North Carolina, Scott has more than 5,000 acres of land in the US. It aims to harness the UK market, which has a 60% share of the European sweet potato market. Moreover, research by TNS shows that the demand for sweet potatoes has increased by 57% in the last year, making the market worth some £24 million.

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