Youfoodz doesn’t want you to know that its planned new manufacturing plant is in Logan

Ready-made meal maker Youfoodz refused to say where its new Brisbane manufacturing plant will be located so we went on the hunt to find out.

Youfoodz chief executive Lance Giles. Picture: Supplied

Long-troubled Youfoodz has tried to keep a veil of secrecy over its planned new manufacturing facility in Brisbane.

The ready-made meal maker, headed by founder Lance Giles, inexplicably refuses to divulge any substantive details about the long-flagged project, including its location.

Naturally, this obfuscation only served to pique our interest.

Now, after a bit of digging, City Beat can reveal that it will be based at the planned new Berrinba Logistics Hub in Logan controlled by the LOGOS fund management and development group.

Lance Giles

But it remains uncertain when construction work will actually start, let alone when it will be completed.

A development application for the complex was only submitted to the Brisbane City Council last month and it’s already encountered a few hurdles, as we’ll detail below.

What’s clear is that Youfoodz appears to be way behind schedule on the scheme, based on information in the company’s prospectus released late last year ahead of its disastrous $70m float.

“Development of the new purpose-built manufacturing facility is expected to commence in January 2021, with a construction timeline of approximately 18 months,’’ the document informed investors.

“Youfoodz will rent the facility and provide a capital investment of approximately $15m for new equipment.’’

The Virginia-based company, which is set to be acquired by rival HelloFresh in a $125m deal, updated the market this week as it unveiled more red ink, a $3.5m net loss for the last financial year.

It said construction is expected to start late next year, with completion in early 2023, while HelloFresh retains unspecified “consultation and approval rights’’ over the development.

Remarkably, the firm maintained that this forecast was “in line with expectations and consistent with the timeline set-out at the time of the Youfoodz IPO’’.

Youfoodz meal kit

Assuming that it gets over the line, the DA says the 13,583 sqm plant will eventually churn out up to 1.2 million meals per week and be able to operate 24/7.

That’s almost triple the capacity of the company’s current operations, which are spread across three separate sites. Ultimately, the facility is tipped to crank out as many as 1.5 million meals every week.

But in an August 13 letter to the consultants handling the application, a BCC urban planner flagged concerns over hazardous materials, industrial impacts on air quality and other issues.

“The proposal includes the storage and handling of large quantities of hazardous goods. Such goods exceed the quantities specified in…the industry code,’’ she wrote.

“Acid, caustic and coagulants that will be used for dosing may be odorous. Sources such as dewatering of sludge…and storage of the sludge cake have been reported to be significant odour sources in some wastewater treatment plants.’’

Giles did not return a call Thursday.

A Youfoodz spin doctor earlier in the week told us merely that “documentation and lease agreements are expected to be executed in the coming weeks and further details will be provided once that has occurred.’’

LOGOS state manager Justin Sherlock declined comment.

LOGOS controls $14bn in assets and manages more than 100 industrial estates in nine countries. Earlier this year it joined forces with two global property giants to develop up to five logistics hubs on Australia’s east coast valued at more than $1bn.