£23m free-range egg business lays plans for growth with seven figure investment

Free-range egg business Yorkshire Farmhouse Eggs, which trades under the James Potter brand, has acquired a new farm as part of a seven-figure investment.

The new farm at Roecliffe in Boroughbridge will increase production by an extra 19 million eggs a year and help to fulfil a new contract with supermarket Sainsbury’s.

There are further egg production facilities in the Midlands and Southern England. The growth will also create five new jobs. Plans for a new 256,000 bird rearing facility will also provide the opportunity to rear hens on site allowing greater control of the bird’s full life cycle.

James Potter began in 1970 when Susan Potter decided she was not happy with the quality and ethics of the eggs available to buy at that time.

With the help of her husband Roger, they bought 200 hens in order to have their own supply of fresh, high welfare free range eggs. Demand quickly grew, as did the business with Susan and Roger’s sons James and Adrian joining shortly afterwards.

At the time the business was only the second in the UK to start producing commercial free range eggs. Today the business employs 65 staff and has a turnover of £23m.

Funding for the new farm has been provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland and its asset finance division Lombard.

James Potter said: “We pride ourselves on animal welfare and our approach is ‘hen-centric.’ Essentially we are real farmers who have been caring for and producing our own eggs for over 30 years and are delighted to be in a position to expand our business thanks to the new contract with Sainsbury’s. It’s an exciting time and we have made a significant investment in the future growth of Yorkshire Farmhouse Eggs. We have been very impressed with the professional approach from the Royal Bank of Scotland whose funding is helping us to expand the business. We have also switched our banking facilities and were looking for a bank with the right expertise which also demonstrated a real desire to understand our business and to work with us as a team and help us to realise our future growth ambitions.”

Mike Holloway, relationship director at the Royal Bank of Scotland said: “We are thrilled to be supporting the Potter family during this very exciting period of expansion and to welcome them as a significant new customer to the bank. James Potter eggs is a well known brand in Yorkshire and increasingly in the wider market and the new farm signals the commitment of the Potter family to invest in the future of the business – something which has characterised their success over the last 36 years. We have developed a fantastic working relationship with the directors and we very much look forward to being a key part of their exciting future. I worked with my colleague James Skelton in Lombard to structure loan and asset finance facilities to assist with the purchase of the new farm and installation of the new hen sheds. This is a great example of a Yorkshire family-run business doing well and leading the way with their products nationally.”