Wright Hassall completes lease for £38m pet food plant

WARWICKSHIRE law firm Wright Hassall has completed legal work which will pave the way for pet food firm Butcher’s to relocate to a new £38m combined administration and production facility.

Butcher’s Pet Care plans to relocate to the new facility in Crick, Northamptonshire, late next year.

Landlord Gazeley is developing the new 250,000 sq ft complex, which will have the capacity to produce around 1,000 cans of pet food per minute and five million a week.

The expansion is part of Butcher’s plans to further establish itself in Europe and develop its position as the UK’s second favourite brand of canned dog food.

Graham Baker, chairman of Butcher’s Pet Care, said the move would help meet growing demand at home and abroad.

He said: “This is the perfect solution for our future needs. We are an expanding company which has a growing market inside and outside the UK, but we also have strong links with Crick, so staying local but upping our capacity is ideal.

“Wright Hassall has looked after all the legal aspects of the negotiations in what was quite an involved process and we are delighted with the outcome.”

Wright Hassall worked with Butcher’s Pet Care and Gazeley to agree a lease which will see the landlord create the bespoke building, which Butcher’s will rent for 20 years.

Its existing factory, which is next to the site, will be demolished to allow for a further new unit to be constructed.

Mark Miller, partner in the commercial property department at Wright Hassall, said: “Butcher’s Pet Care is a household name in the UK and it has major plans to continue to be a leading pet food provider domestically and to grow its business in Europe.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with the company and play a key role in this vital stage of its growth.”

Picture caption: From left: Mark Miller, of Wright Hassall, Graham Baker, of Butcher’s Pet Care and Nick Abell, of Wright Hassall.