A STAVELEY business has reported an increase in trading despite being hit hard by last year's December floods.

Lakes Speciality Foods lost 20 per cent of its business after Storm Desmond.

However, four months after the floods, it opened the Ulverston Meat Company as well as joining forces with two new specialist directors to open the Eden Valley Meat Company.

The investment is beginning to pay off Mr Weston said, with orders from local restaurants and hotels as well as deliveries to Manchester and Liverpool.

"Next year looks like being a good one for us as we work hard to secure more clients, attract more people to our Ulverston and Kendal shops and take our products to Keswick, Kendal and Ulverston markets using a fleet of new vans," Mr Weston said.

Ulverston Meat Company provides meat at wholesale prices to the trade and public through a factory shop outlet and is also home to a salt house.

Eden Valley Meat Company operates from Plumpton, near Penrith, and procures locally-sourced venison and game birds for the company.

Company director Dan Weston explained: "The floods revealed some business vulnerabilities which we believe we’ve turned into strengths. People want security of supply as much as they want high quality meat with a strong local provenance.

"We are now based within the communities we serve, staffed with locals, and providing true accountability. As part of a larger business we can pass on efficiencies of scale to our customers, both trade and the public, whilst assuring them of the meat’s provenance and quality."