FDBusiness.com

English wild game and venison supplier Yorkshire Game has increased turnover by 10% by investing in the latest state-of-the-art processing equipment. The company, which supplies high quality game and sustainable wild meat from estates in Scotland and northern England, has invested £534,000 in new packaging and weighing equipment as part of ongoing expansion plans.

The equipment was partly funded by catering asset finance specialist Academy Leasing and will allow Yorkshire Game to meet a recent surge in demand for high quality game from UK supermarkets.

“We already supply Michelin starred restaurants and retail suppliers but last year saw new orders from Marks and Spencer, Sainsburys and Morrisons,” says Adrian Lyons, managing director of Yorkshire Game. “Consumers are increasingly looking for lean, healthy and sustainable meat and now they expect to find it in their local supermarket rather than a specialist butcher. We have had to more than double our production capacity to meet the soaring demand.”

The company has revamped the whole factory floor at the 22,000 sq ft processing site in Richmond, creating a much smoother and more efficient process.

“The Ishida weighing and ProSeal packaging equipment makes a huge difference to our productivity and will help us meet our ambitious growth plans,” he adds. “We always research the market thoroughly for the best funding options but Academy repeatedly come out on top for their responsiveness, strong customer service and amazing turnaround times.”

Academy Leasing was able to facilitate the operation by taking advantage of its extensive funding lines with a panel of banks and specialist finance houses.

“With 30 years experience of supplying finance to the catering equipment industry, we understand the cyclical nature of some sectors like wild game and were able to provide strong justification for the business plan to secure the finance needed with a funder,” says Hazel Jacques, sales director at Academy Leasing. “We are confident that, with our help, Yorkshire Game will go on to achieve even greater success.”