AN AWARD-WINNING patisserie business has moved to Cwmbran following a £500,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales.

La Crème Patisserie has moved in to an 11,000 sq ft building, which is eight times larger than its base in Baglan. The move comes as the company gears up for a new contract - supplying cakes, desserts and afternoon teas to the new International Convention Centre Wales (ICCW) currently being built at the Celtic Manor Resort.

The move has already created four new jobs, with another 30 set to be made over the next six to 18 months.

The new site is large enough to incorporate a gluten free and vegan facility, and will allow La Crème to increase production six-fold over the next three years.

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The company, which has been trading from Port Talbot for 11 years, has made a name on the patisserie scene supplying its top end products to Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace and Kew Gardens, and to sporting venues and events such as the Cheltenham Festival.

Ian Hindle, of La Crème Patisserie, said: “The development bank loan will make a huge difference to the company. We were approached 18 months ago by the culinary director of the Celtic Manor who said they would have a substantial requirement for cakes, desserts, afternoon teas and morning pastries for the new convention centre.

“We had worked with them before, and we knew we needed a new, bigger manufacturing site to satisfy their needs. This site in Cwmbran is just minutes from the Celtic Manor so its strategically perfect.

“Now we’ve got the new premises we’ve got larger stock holding capacity and larger freezer capacity. We would like to do more stadiums and events and we now have the facilities to handle these larger contracts.”

The investment has come from the Wales Business Fund which is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Welsh Government and set up to support businesses with fewer than 250 employees, based in Wales or willing to move here.

It is designed to provide business loans and equity packages from £50,000 up to £2m, and backs start-ups, established SMEs and early stage tech ventures across a wide range of sectors.