Bottling and packaging group Thomas Hardy Holdings has enjoyed a record-breaking year, with turnover reaching £27.5m for the year ending September 30, 2025—a 39% increase on 2024. Pre-tax profits surged 132% from £1.8m to £4.1m, marking the highest profit since the company's incorporation in 1997.
Record Profits and Volume Growth
Managing director Chris Ward said: "This is the highest profit generated in a financial year for the group since incorporation in 1997. Overall packaged volumes were up 41% on 2024 and the directors forecast further growth in 2026." The group operates from its main site in Burtonwood near Warrington and a second base in Kendal.
Investment and Expansion
At the Burtonwood site, the group's new canning line operated for its first full year, achieving what Mr Ward called "promising volume output." A warehouse extension at the Bold Lane site started later than expected but is still on track to offer facilities to customers in the second half of 2026. Over the past six years, the group has invested £24.4m in the Burtonwood site, which now includes two high-speed glass bottling lines and one high-speed canning line, capable of filling up to 350m bottles and 225m cans annually.
Contract Renewals and Customer Demand
Mr Ward highlighted success with contract renewals: "Two of the group's existing customers renewed contracts during the year. 94% of forecast volumes for the next financial year are contracted beyond the next twelve months with a further 3% agreed in principle with contracts pending." He added: "The directors are in constant contact with all of the group's customers and believe that demand will be in line with expectations over the next twelve months."
Kendal Site and Workforce
The Kendal site, which received £5.9m in investment over the last six years, includes a high-speed glass bottling line and other packaging machines for cartons, trays, and shrink-wrapping. The group employs more than 120 people across both locations.
Outlook for 2026
Mr Ward said: "The directors forecast that volumes in the coming year will continue to grow beyond the output achieved in 2025, with strong demand continuing to come from both bottling and canning customers." To meet increasing demand, operations on the can line at Burtonwood moved to a 24/7 continental shift pattern in October 2025, expected to run beyond the end of the next financial year.
The Thomas Hardy group was founded in 1997 by Peter Ward with the acquisition of businesses in Dorchester, Burtonwood brewery, and Scottish Courage's Kendal site. Barclays has supported the group's investments, including the opening of a new bottling line in 2019.
