Plant-based oils producer AAK is set to expand production capacity, diversify its product range and cut the carbon intensity of its Hull refinery, after Humber Freeport backed the first phase of a major investment programme at the company’s King George Dock site with £2m of seed capital funding.

AAK has operated in Hull since 1982, when the business was founded as Anglia Oils, and today employs around 300 people at the site — one of the UK’s largest plant-based oils refineries. The refinery supplies vegetable oils to food manufacturers and leading retailers, as well as to special nutrition and personal care brands, alongside bakeries, confectioners, pubs, takeaways and supermarkets.

Feasibility funding

The £2m Freeport contribution supported the feasibility stage of AAK’s investment programme, rather than the build itself — but that early-stage backing appears to have been decisive in the project’s pace.

Damian Taylor, AAK’s UK finance director, said: “The investment in our Hull site represents one of the single largest in AAK’s recent history. It will add significant new strings to our bow and enable us to diversify our plant-based oils range and the markets we supply to.

“We’d like to thank Humber Freeport for its support, through the seed capital fund, and for sharing our vision and ambitions for the Hull site. The funding provided valuable support during the feasibility stage of the project, and has enabled us to move forwards quickly and with confidence.”

Diversifying the product slate

For AAK, the investment is designed to expand both production capacity and capability at King George Dock, giving the company scope to widen the range of plant-based oils it produces and to reach new customer markets beyond its current base. That diversification also stands to generate a significant additional tonnage of cargo through the Port of Hull each year, strengthening the site’s position within local supply chains.

A lower-carbon refinery

The upgrade carries an environmental dividend alongside the commercial one. AAK expects the investment to reduce Scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions intensity at the Hull site by 39 per cent per tonne produced, compared with 2025 levels — a meaningful step toward the company’s longer-term climate ambitions, delivered through the same capital programme rather than as a separate initiative.

Contribution

The gains for AAK are capacity, diversification and decarbonisation, secured through funding.

Humber Freeport CEO Simon Green framed the wider stakes: “AAK’s investment in Hull is the latest success story for a business which has made a significant contribution to the region’s economy for more than four decades. We’re delighted to have contributed, through the Freeport seed capital fund, to an investment which will both create new business opportunities in the Humber, and safeguard existing operations.

“AAK supports a food manufacturing sector which is vital to the Humber’s economic prosperity and future. Our seed capital fund is designed to support the feasibility of projects such as this – stimulating growth, driving new innovation and product development, and promoting sustainability.”

The AAK award is one of seven projects backed by Humber Freeport’s £25m seed capital fund, which the organisation says has catalysed more than £170m in private sector investment across the region.