AAK’s refinery employs about 300 people in the city
Humber Freeport’s CEO Simon Green, centre, with AAK’s Hull site director Peter Gower (right) and UK finance director Damian Taylor (left) at the company’s site at King George Dock in Hull.(Image: Humber Freeport)
A major employer in Hull has secured £2m of investment for its Port of Hull facility. Plant oils producer AAK will increase production capacity at its King George Dock refinery, following backing from Humber Freeport.
Bosses say the investment is “one of the single largest” in the firm’s history and will safeguard the site where it refines a variety of plant-based oils including palm, rapeseed, sunflower and high oleic sunflower. The Hull facility then blends and processes the oils into products for the food industry.
The Hull site was established in the early 1980s as Anglia Oils and now employs 300 people under the ownership of Swedish firm AAK AB. Products made there go to bakeries, confectioners, pubs and takeaways, supermarkets and more.
Funding comes through Humber Freeport’s £25m seed capital fund, which will support the first phase of an investment programme to strengthen AAK’s long-term presence in the city. It says the expansion will drive additional cargo through the Port of Hull each year – benefiting local suppliers.
Simon Green, Humber Freeport CEO, said: “AAK’s investment in Hull is the latest success story for a business which has made a significant contribution to the region’s economy for more than four decades. We’re delighted to have contributed, through the Freeport seed capital fund, to an investment which will both create new business opportunities in the Humber, and safeguard existing operations.
“AAK supports a food manufacturing sector which is vital to the Humber’s economic prosperity and future. Our seed capital fund is designed to support the feasibility of projects such as this – stimulating growth, driving new innovation and product development, and promoting sustainability.”
Damian Taylor, AAK’s UK finance director, said: “The investment in our Hull site represents one of the single largest in AAK’s recent history. It will add significant new strings to our bow and enable us to diversify our plant-based oils range and the markets we supply to. We’d like to thank Humber Freeport for its support, through the seed capital fund, and for sharing our vision and ambitions for the Hull site. The funding provided valuable support during the feasibility stage of the project, and has enabled us to move forwards quickly and with confidence.”
The AAK investment is expected to reduce Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity at the site by 39% per tonne produced compared with 2025 levels, supporting AAK’s long-term climate ambitions.
The Humber Freeport seed capital fund has so far supported seven projects in the region. Recipients include Hull-based manufacturer Ideal Heating, industry skills training provider Catch, based in Stallingborough and Associated British Ports, to support the delivery of the Helm industrial park at Immingham.
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