Game on as supplier invests to meet demand

The company, which supplies 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 its expansion plans.

The equipment was partly funded by catering asset finance specialist Academy Leasing.

The investment will allow Yorkshire Game to meet rising demand for game from UK supermarkets.

Adrian Lyons, the managing director at Yorkshire Game, said: “We already supply Michelin starred restaurants and retail suppliers, but last year saw new orders from Marks & Spencer, Sainsburys and Morrisons.

“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 factory floor at the 22,000 sq ft processing site in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to improve efficiency.

Mr Lyons said the new Ishida weighing and ProSeal packaging equipment was making a huge difference to the firm’s productivity.

He added: “It will help us meet our ambitious growth plans.”

Hazel Jacques, the sales director of Academy Leasing, said: “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.”

Academy Leasing, which is based in Warrington, provides vehicle, invoice, sales aid and equipment finance.