Doncaster-based Finance For Enterprise helps unique Grimsby pet food firm to scale up its operations

The Grimsby firm has since been able to move to larger premises at South Humberside Industrial Estate, allowing the company to improve efficiencies in its manufacturing processes, as well as creating the vital additional working space needed to recruit up to ten members of staff to meet current demand.

The company is the only pet food provider in the UK who specialise exclusively in fish-based products, was launched by fish merchant Steve Moore in 2013, after he spotted an opportunity to re-purpose co-products from high quality fish destined for the dinner table.

Using an ancient preservation technique, which can trace its origins back to the Vikings, fish are dried slowly at a low temperature, resulting in a “nutritionally dense” source of protein.

Steve Moore, managing director, Skippers Pet Products, said: “I’ve worked in Grimsby’s fish industry since I was just 17 years old, and I recognised that when fish are prepared for human consumption, there can be large parts of the animal that simply goes to waste.

“The funds and help we’ve received have been transformational for our business, and through the support we’ve received from Finance For Enterprise, we’re not just helping to improve the lives of much loved pets across the world, but we’re also doing our bit to improve sustainability, as well as creating additional new jobs within Grimsby’s fishing industry.”

In recent months, the company has not only seen demand for its products increase within the UK, but also in several overseas markets, notably Canada and Hong Kong.

The business has also seen its turnover increase by 500 per cent, as well as seeing its workforce grow from eight members of staff to over twenty employees in the past year alone.