Foodie firm Farmison's £500,000 boost

An upmarket online grocer, backed by the former boss of Asda, has secured funding to expand and help attract more "foodie" customers.

The venture capital firm, Finance Yorkshire, has invested £500,000 to take a minority stake in Farmison, which delivers premium produce, such as farmhouse cheeses and rare-breed beef, direct from farmers. Andy Bond, who was Asda's chief executive until 2010 and is now the chairman of the fashion chain Republic, and Chris Britton, the chief executive of the food company Findus Group, were among the original investors in Farmison at its launch last November.

John Pallagi, Farmison's co-founder, said it has delivered about 5,000 orders since and the "propensity for repeat purchases has far exceeded expectations".

Farmison sources its food from more than 75 farms, growers and producers, who are also used by top chefs.