Raw food company Bella and Duke is on a sales and marketing push after securing a £100,000 loan to help grow the business.
The loan from UMi Debt Finance Scotland has enabled the Perthshire-based company to hire a further two full-time members of staff and two part-time workers at its distribution centre, taking the headcount up to 34. It will also support plans for increased sales and marketing activities.
Mark Scott, chief executive, and Tony Ottley, chief operating officer, founded Bella and Duke with Michael Scully in 2017, and have grown turnover to £6m, with a further 50% increase in sales forecast during its next financial year, reported The Herald in February.
Its raw food meals for dogs and cats are supplied direct to customers throughout the UK.
UMi Debt Finance Scotland was launched in January 2019 to manage a £12 million loan fund as part of the Scottish Growth Scheme, created by the Scottish Government and funded partly by the European Regional Development Fund.
Tom Brock, fund director at UMi Debt Finance, said: “Bella and Duke is a good example of the type of Scottish businesses we want to support – experienced and ambitious entrepreneurs with a clear vision and understanding of their market, and with high quality product and services. Bella and Duke typifies the diverse range of Scottish businesses we are funding under the Scottish Growth Scheme.”
