Inspired Pet Nutrition, the UK’s largest manufacturer of dry petfood, saw further double-digit growth last year as it was snapped up by private equity player CapVest.
In the year to 30 June 2021, the Harringtons owner saw sales grow 10.3% to £119m.
Its key Harringtons brand drove much of growth, with sales up 19% against wider market growth of 1.9%. Harringtons is the biggest dry dogfood brand in the UK and its Harringtons Wet Dog line exited the period up 73% year on year.
Pre-tax profits reduced from £12.7m to £10.3m as the bottom line was constrained by raw material inflation and increased operational costs, including Covid-related sick pay, sanisation measures and PPE.
“Like many businesses the current economic climate presents us with numerous challenges,” said CEO James Lawson. “However, I am delighted with these excellent trading results and our continued focus to meet demand across multiple channels.”
During the financial year, IPN invested a further £4.6m on capital projects, increasing the total group capital investment at its sites at Dalton in North Yorkshire and Kinmel in North Wales to over £70m during the past 10 years.
IPN agreed to the sale of the company to funds advised by CapVest Partners in December 2020 and itself bought Pet Food UK, owner of Barking Heads and Meowing Heads, in December 2021.
The accounts note that CapVest has “extensive experience of transforming the size and scale of their companies through M&A” and the company “looks forward to the support from CapVest on our next stage of growth and strategy deliverance”.
Anthony Stones, CFO at IPN, commented: “As a leading, cost-efficient UK petfood manufacturer operating across multiple channels, IPN will continue to expand rapidly. A combination of unrivalled nutritional knowledge, trustworthy brands and much-loved products and services, all at affordable prices, really are a winning combination.
“With the CapVest partners on board, we will be looking to bring in other brands and manufacturing companies to join IPN and we are very confident that the company will continue to win and grow in a resilient market.”
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