Business

Bird seed manufacturer Johnston and Jeff has announced a £1m expansion to its factory, amid its 140th anniversary celebrations. The investment is funding a new 12,000 sq ft warehouse, and a four-fold increase in pallet bays, from 485 to 2,000.  It will also see Johnston and Jeff build new offices…

The British Independent Retailers Association (BIRA) has welcomed the Chancellor’s emergency package to help small retail businesses amid the coronavirus crisis. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered his first Budget on Wednesday (11 March) which included a £30bn package to help the UK economy respond to the coronavirus. He…

Pet food brand Bella and Duke announced it has raised £3.5m in its latest funding round. The investment will be used to help the firm to accelerate sales, marketing and recruitment activities, as well as expand into the cat food market. The latest round of investment was led by Mobeus,…

Colliers International has called on the UK Government to consider and to fund a system of “discretionary rate relief” for businesses impacted by the Coronavirus. The commercial real estate company said this is one of the measures that could “alleviate business pain” in this week’s Budget. It added that against…

A five-point plan to ‘Save Our Shops’ (SOS) has been issued by Bira, the umbrella group of the Pet Product Retail Association. It’s the key feature of Bira’s forthcoming manifesto which focuses on what can be done to better support independent retail businesses and minimise the burden on them. Bira…

HMRC’s investigations into individuals and small businesses produced a yield of approximately £16 for every £1 spent on staff last year, according to research by international law firm Pinsent Masons. The firm said the “huge” return on investment in staff outweighs returns seen by other private sector businesses. Whilst HMRC’s…

Vital Pet Group has strengthened its senior management team with the appointment of three new recruits. Heather McManus takes on a new post as sales and marketing director, whilst Helen Goddard has been appointed as its senior buying. Joining them, Zoe Fleming has been appointed as its head of customer…

Pets at Home has appointed Ian Burke as its new chairman following an “extensive” internal and external search process. The group initially said it was looking to appoint a successor to outgoing chair Tony DeNunzio in its interim results last November.  Since 2017, Burke was chair of Studio Retail Group…

Pet product retailer Mikki has launched its new 2-in-1 Whistle Clicker. Combining the functions of its most popular training aids, the new lightweight clicker features a high pitched whistle for recall and command. It also features a large button clicker to “reinforce positive training behaviour.” The new clicker is available…

A dog day care centre in Millbrook, Bedfordshire, has opened its doors following a £50k finance package from NatWest. Tracey Stevenson and Russell Long have used the bank’s funding, alongside a personal investment, to build a 2000 sq ft facility with internal and external areas for dogs to play, exercise…