German private-label pizza manufacturer Freiberger is investing €45m ($48.9m) in a new frozen-pizza production facility at UK subsidiary Stateside Foods.

The sum will go towards building a new plant specifically for frozen pizza products on Stateside Foods' manufacturing site in Bolton, close to Manchester.

The construction of the factory started in 2023, according to Freiberger. Production at the plant is expected to commence by the first quarter of next year.

Once the site is up and running, Stateside Foods will be able to add frozen pizza items to its portfolio for the first time.

Freiberger's decision to invest in the Bolton group comes as it looks to fulfill the growing demand for frozen pizzas from UK consumers "more efficiently", it said in a statement.

The prospective site in Bolton will have new "stone oven technology" that is expected to speed up deliveries, as well as "increase customer satisfaction and... meet increasing sustainability requirements", the pizza maker said.

Just Food has asked the Berlin-headquartered group to confirm how many new jobs the site is expected to create and the expected size of the new plant.

Freiberger CEO Thomas Schulz said in a statement: "With the new plant in the UK, we are taking an important step towards strengthening our market presence and ensuring the high quality of our products".

Stateside Foods is best known for its private-label chilled pizza products, produced in snack-size formats and regular 12-inch size pizzas, which it sells to supermarkets across the UK.

The group was snapped up by Freiberger in 2003 for an unknown figure. It has three manufacturing sites, one in Bolton, and two in Skelmersdale and Haslingden in Lancashire.

Set up in 1976, Freiberger manufactures savoury baked products, including chilled and frozen pizzas, tarte flambées, ready-to-eat pasta meals, bread snacks and baguettes, pizza snacks and hot dogs. Its goods are sold in 30 European countries, as well as in the US, Canada and South Africa.

The company has been wholly owned by the German sugar giant Suedzucker since 1998.