Greencore has announced plans to close its Evercreech production facility in Somerset by April next year. The food-to-go company said it had decided to cease production at the Evercreech plant, which manufactures chilled desserts, as there were no financially sustainable solutions to repair or replace the facility.

Greencore added that the facility at Evercreech is 126 years old and in need of “significant refurbishment” were production to continue at the site. The closure of the plant will mean the loss of about 400 jobs. The group said it was starting a 45-day consultation process as it enters redundancy negotiations with trade unions. Last month, Greencore reported a 27% increase in operating profits for the first six months of its 2017 financial year to £55.3m. Group revenue for the first half of the financial year was up more than 46% to just over £1bn, mainly due to the increased revenues from the Peacock Foods business acquired last year for $748m.