Month: November 2021

Different Types of Real Christmas Tree

No Needle Drop’ Nordmann Fir

The Nordmann Fir is a tough tree with thick, soft glossy needles that are dark green on the top and blue-green on the underside. It is renowned for holding onto its needles the best of all the different types of Christmas tree, meaning you won’t need to worry about putting the vacuum clearer into regular use during the festive period! For this reason the Nordmann is a good choice, particularly if you’ll be positioning your tree a bit closer to a radiator or open fire than would be ideal.

Traditional Norway Spruce

Norway Spruce is the traditional Christmas tree which has been popular since Victoria times with short and thin, varying bright and deep green pointed needles. It has a more triangular shape than other varieties with attractive red-brown bark, a rich coniferous fragrance, broad base and bushy habit. As the best value type of Christmas tree available, the Norway Spruce had been the single most popular variety in Europe for some time, but was recently overtaken by no needle drop varieties such as the Nordmann Fir.

Serbian Spruce

The Serbian or Omorika Spruce is one of the newer types of Christmas tree on the market, with a more slender shape than other types of tree, making it perfect for smaller homes, porches or corridors. Its needles are similar to the Norway spruce but flatter and soft with a bluey hue and almost white undersides. The branches are slightly drooping yet well spaced, making decorating easy with sprays pointing upwards at the ends. Needle retention is better than the Norway Spruce but not as good as the Nordmann Fir, so again we recommend buying your Serbian Spruce in mid-later December to reduce the amount of needle drop before Christmas. The Omorika Spruce boasts a pleasant, strong fragrance and works well with a simple scheme of plain lights spun around the tree from top to bottom.

Alberta White Spruce

A lovely, compact, slow growing conifer which makes the perfect mini Christmas tree with dense branches and a bluey hue. The Alberta White Spruce has its origin in North America but found its way to England around the 1700s. It has a conical form making it ideal to use as a large table top or windowsill tree. Supplied pot grown with a good chance of planting out after Christmas if you choose to have it indoors to start. After Christmas the Alberta White Spruce can be kept in the container but put outdoors in a sunny spot or, alternatively, planted at the front of a border or in the rock garden

North Yorkshire Dairy Farm expands with funding

A North Yorkshire dairy farm is set to double capacity with the opening of a new warehouse, supported by six-figure funding from Lloyds Bank.

Town Head Farm in Grassington is a family-owned milk producer and distributor, led by David Oversby, grandson of founder William Oversby.

It sells milk and juices to wholesalers, caterers and supermarkets, as well as to regional doorstop sellers across Yorkshire and the North West from its production site at the foot of the Yorkshire Dales. The dairy’s 80-strong team also supplies milk to schools and NHS hospital trusts.

The £14m-turnover business has been boosted by growing demand for doorstop milk deliveries, and the team recognised the need to increase production capacity to meet demand and drive growth.

The £800,000 loan Lloyds Bank is being used to support the purchase of new equipment, including a glass bottling line and bottle washing machine.

Paul Mason, commercial director at Town Head Farm, said: “Dales Dairies is a third-generation family business, and we are always looking for new ways to supply the highest quality products and create local jobs in Yorkshire. The pandemic generated huge demand for doorstop deliveries, which looks set to continue, and our expanded site with more efficient equipment gives us the room to grow to meet that demand.

“This marks the second time that the team at Lloyds Bank have supported our growth ambitions, after helping us with the initial purchase of our Keighley site. We are now in a position to unlock a new phase of growth at Town Head, serving even more customers across the North of England and helping to support the regional dairy farmers who supply our milk.”

Alexandra Butterworth, relationship director at Lloyds Bank, added: “We’ve worked with David and the team at Town Head Farm for many years now, and it has been so rewarding to watch the business go from strength to strength. They have emerged from a challenging 18 months stronger than ever, seeking out new ways to grow and adapting to changing consumer behaviour.”

Richmond Asset Finance can help you and your business expand or give it the boost you need in order to increase your revenue or help you to expand as a business.

Contact us today

Hire purchase machinery and vehicle finance

Hire purchase spreads the cost of buying equipment.

Keeping your farm business running efficiently often means investing in additional vehicles, equipment or machinery.

Flexible packages help you get on with business

Hire Purchase lets you spread the cost of a capital asset over a fixed term, enabling you to use some of the revenue the item generates to fund its purchase. 

This helps boost your cash flow as you’ll not have to pay outright for major investments which may otherwise slow down your growth, diversification or consolidation plans.

  • Buy new and used vehicles and farm equipment from £15,000 – including tractors, combines, balers, sprayers, telehandlers, feed mixer wagons, grain drying equipment, beet harvesters, pea viners, egg graders, slurry spreaders, trailers, automated parlours, commercial vehicles and more. 
  • Hire Purchase can help with the cost of biomass boilers, the financing of balloon payments and also VAT deferments. 
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