Pet products firm in £1.5m Lincoln relocation

Pet products company Omlet has invested around £1.5m on expanding to Lincoln and creating new jobs.

Lincoln-based chartered surveyor Banks Long & Co revealed it has sold the former Lincolnshire Co-op warehouse on Whisby Road, to the Oxfordshire-headquartered business.

Director Johannes Paul said: “Demand for our products is increasing on the continent, so we started to look for a European warehouse. A colleague began searching the internet, and started typing in ‘Rotterdam’, but Google’s autofill finished off ‘Rot’ as ‘Rotherham’ and without realising it he hit search.

“That led us to explore what was available in the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire areas and we had the good fortune to spot the Lincoln warehouse. As soon as we saw it, we knew it was perfect for our needs.”

Omlet – which was lauched in 2003 by four friends who met at London’s Royal College of Art – has initially created six new jobs in Lincoln, but says there could be seasonal opportunities in the future.

The company has 50 other employees – including staff based at Wardington (Oxfordshire) where Omlet has its sales, marketing, procurement, finance and customer services departments and others at distribution centres on the East and West coasts of America and in New Zealand, Canada and Australia.

Omlet is best known for its original invention – a trendy hen coop – known as the Eglu. That product, together with others in the Eglu range, have made it the biggest producer of modern hen houses in the world.

“We came-up with the Eglu at a time when people started to seriously question the provenance of their food and many familiies chose to keep their own chickens and collect their own eggs,” said Paul.

He added: “Lincoln is an attractive and growing city and it gives us ready access to a varied employment base, including students, when we need to take on seasonal workers. Our new centre manager is Stephen Newborough.”

Banks Long & Co Director William Wall said: “We were delighted when Omlet’s search led the company to Lincoln.

“The 28,280 sq ft warehouse, sits on 1.59 acres and offers the company plenty of space for its storage needs. It is also in the ideal location for easy access to the A46, A1 and the wider East Midlands.

“We wish the company the very best for the future.”