East Mids pet food manufacturer seals £12.5m funding deal

An East Midlands pet food manufacturer says it has boosted its production facilities by 50% after buying new machinery with the support of a £12.5m funding package from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

Butcher’s Pet Care, established in 1987, has used the funding from Lloyds Bank to invest in new machinery and revamp its branding.

The investment is part of a three year investment programme which has seen international revenue increase by 28 per cent with its highest number of exports to Poland.

Butcher’s Pet Care is a third-generation, family-run firm, headquartered in Crick, Northampton. The business began in a butcher’s shop in Rugby in the 1960s and has grown to be one of the largest pet food producers in the UK producing over six million packs of cat and dog food each week. The company now employs 300 people and its original recipe is sold by major retailers, including Tesco’s, Morrisons and Waitrose and exports to over 11 countries.

Francis Powell, finance director at Butcher’s Pet Care, said: “The last few years have seen us enjoy significant growth and almost triple our annual turnover since 2005. We’ve calculated that we feed about ten pets per second and we look forward to seeing this figure increase.”

Andy Dunlop, relationship director at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking, said: “Butcher’s is a successful and fast-growing business and the retail value of the pet care market in the UK is booming. It’s great to see the business tapping into new and emerging opportunities, investing back into the market, and boosting profits.”
Caption: Francis Powell