Hubbard's Pork Shop
BUTCHER GETS AWARD-WINNING SHOP HE ALWAYS DREAMED OF
Loan from organisation Foundation East gives butcher a new beginning
JUST one year ago David Hubbard never dreamt he would be the proud owner of an award-winning butchers shop.
Now his free range sausages – including the infamous Satan’s Ashes – are gaining a sizzling reputation in Bury St Edmunds.
It was after a loan from community finance organisation Foundation East that the skilled butcher set up Hubbard’s Pork Shop in Out Westgate which he runs with his wife Caroline.
Their range of more than 16 varieties has recently won an award for the best local sausage in the area in a competition run by the Oddfellows Institution.
Despite his obvious success, a year ago David had doubts as to whether his business would ever go ahead.
Even with many years in the industry as a master sausage-maker and management experience gained from heading up a team of 30 butchers, David found that the banks he approached were not interested in his business plan.
David needed funding to set up shop. He explains:
“I had always wanted to set up my own butchering business. The problem was that the banks just weren’t interested in lending us money.
“The whole thing was farcical. They couldn’t even tell us why we were being refused funding.”
Luckily he was recommended to contact Foundation East which is a membership organisation that provides loans to small businesses of up to £50,000. The organisation does not use credit scoring to make a decision, but instead looks at the business plan, cash-flow projections and plans for the future.
Peter Davis, Business Loans Manager for Foundation East, says:
“At Foundation East the decision to loan money is made by a panel of members many of whom are in business themselves and understand the challenges that retailers like the Hubbards face. If the business plan and the cash flow analysis are realistic then we are able to take into account factors like knowledge of the industry and a unique proposition.
“Other lenders are restricted by a computer decision. These intangibles, which can make all the difference to the success of business, can be missed.”
Half the money for Hubbard’s Pork Shop came from Foundation East, with the other half being put up by David and Caroline, who is in charge of paperwork. With this support the couple have been able to buy refrigeration facilities for a chill room, as well as meat grinders and stainless steel counters.
“Foundation East has been fantastic,” said David. “Nothing was too much trouble.”
Now David’s business is going from strength to strength. Although he sells many pork products, including loin joints, dry-cured bacon and hams, what sets him apart from his competitors is his vast array of sausages.
His best sellers are his traditional sausages and the already infamous Satan’s Ashes, which contain a secret blend of chillies and white wine vinegar, resulting in a “very hot experience”, according to David. At the height of the barbecue season last year, David was selling 40 kilos a week of Satan’s Ashes to all ages of his discerning clientele.
The fact that all the meat he uses is free range also makes him stand out from his competitors. David said: “Free range is what my customers want and having worked in the pork industry for so long, I understand how important it is for flavour.
“The pigs getting through to supermarkets are too lean for pork and sausages. The taste is all in the fat. Free range pigs are kept in better conditions and are much slower growing resulting in a much better flavour.”
Hubbard’s Pork Shop produce is also being sold further afield, as Caroline’s brother Andrew Bishop has begun to create a presence at local markets - Bury St Edmunds market on a Wednesday and a Saturday, and in Felixstowe on Sundays.
“Without Foundation East, we would not be where we are today,” said David. “They couldn’t have been more helpful.”
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