A UK-based businessman is stepping into the world of food retail for the first time with the launch of a premium Spanish food business that he hopes will rival Brindisa.

Spanish-born Javier De La Hormaza is bringing the best of his home country to British shores with the launch of Grey’s Fine Foods, a retail and wholesale food business which will offer delicacies such as milk-fed lamb, acorn-fed Ibérico ham, marron glacé and 100-year-old Brandy.

“French and Italian foods are very established in the UK but people have not been given access to top quality Spanish foods like this before,” says Javier, who is from the Basque region. “Spain’s export markets have always been focused on South America and, recently, Germany, with the UK left to one side. But no more. We want to build those bridges and offer a range of fine foods and wines that have been almost impossible to source in Britain in the past.

“My business partner Alvaro Del Portillo and I spent 18 months researching and developing the business, and sourcing foods and wines directly from small producers. We deliberately didn’t source from big suppliers or exporters, which does have its own logistical challenges, but it is a small price to pay, as we are so committed to bringing together artisan food and drink from some of the most remote parts of Spain.”