A READY meal maker claims its “best days lie ahead” after customer clamour for convenience food provided a lift.

Greencore Group says it is well positioned for further growth as busy shoppers choose its food-on-the-go ranges.

The business runs a factory in Consett, County Durham, which is used to make chilled ready meals and soups, quiches and sauces.

Bosses say the base, which forms part of Greencore’s wider prepared meals division, has been intrinsic to the company’s successes, with Consett helping make some of the 224 million chilled goods supplied to consumers this year.

Patrick Coveney, chief executive, said the business was benefiting from its decision six years ago to focus on the convenience sector, revealing the firm continues to profit from its legacy.

According to latest financial results for the year to September 30, which were released today (Monday, December 5), revenues increased more than ten per cent to £1.48bn, while operating profit was 11.2 per cent higher at £102m.

Mr Coveney said: “Our strategy is working well; our well-developed food-to-go model in the UK is benefiting from contract wins and strong underlying growth.

“We are delivering well against consumer desire for convenience in shopping, preparation and consumption.

“The decision to concentrate on convenience represented a conscious move to put Greencore in the best space to capitalise on trends and we have been struck by the sustained growth of customers and products, despite overall consumer uncertainties.

“We have become a much stronger business and, notwithstanding what we have achieved already, it very much feels like our best days lie ahead.”

Mr Coveney revealed the firm’s prepared meals operation, which makes up about 20 per cent of group revenue, was helped by market growth in the year thanks to higher demand, particularly for Italian food and quiche.

However, a milder winter hit interest in chilled soup.

Greencore brands itself as the world’s largest sandwich producer and says it makes 140 million supermarket own-label ready meals and around 500 million Yorkshire puddings ever year.

With factories in the UK and US, it employs more than 12,000 people globally and has an annual turnover of nearly £1.5bn.

Earlier this year, the firm revealed plans to take on the US’ Peacock Foods in a £594.3m deal.