Elite Wiltshire butchers carves up growth strategy with new multi-million-pound site
A renowned Wiltshire butchers that supplies Michelin-star restaurants and superyachts, expects to grow its sales by a third after expanding into bigger premises in Wiltshire, with support from Shawbrook Bank.
At a glance
Family-run Walter Rose and Son, which has an annual turnover of £15m and 100 employees, has bought the entire Banda Industrial Estate - home to six other businesses - in Devizes, just two miles from high-street home.
The move will see the business take a total 18000sq ft unit on the site, which will provide convenient access to neighbouring towns Swindon, Salisbury, Westbury and Warminster.
The multi-award-winning butchers supplies high quality meat products from farms within a 20-mile radius of its store in Devizes. It was founded in 1847 and taken over by the Cook family in 1977, and today counts the restaurants, including The Bull & Bear and Purnell’s Restaurant, of superstar chefs Tom Kerridge and Glynn Purnell respectively, among its customers.
The new unit will help the business to increase its capacity, and to expand on the success of the home delivery service it introduced during the pandemic to help offset lost income from its restaurant trade customers closing under restrictions.
The premises will be renovated with state-of-the-art equipment helping it to increase efficiency to meet growing demand, while housing a trade counter for on-the-spot sales. It plans to hire new staff from the local community as it expands.
Walter Rose and Son turned to Shawbrook Bank, securing a £3.5m facility, to buy the industrial estate at Devizes and to fit out its new unit.
The restaurant trade got back on its feet quickly following the end of lockdown restrictions and our new premises will help us meet the growing demand from both local eateries to high-end restaurants across the UK.
Steve added:
“It will also help us to sustain and grow our home delivery service. What was once a lifeline for the business is now a significant income stream for us, and it’s the combination of a successful pivot and expanding order book that makes now the perfect time to scale-up.
“Shawbrook Bank’s quick decision making helped us to pounce at the new site, which marks an exciting new chapter for our historic business.”
Oliver Jenkins, director at Shawbrook in the South West and Wales, said:
“Walter Rose and Son are one of our longest standing customers. They’ve shown excellent agility and resilience facing the headwinds of the last few years and have a fantastic track record of providing a quality service that attracts and retains the industries top restauranteurs.
“That’s why we’re proud to support the business as it takes this big step forward by buying Banda Industrial Estate, which increases its capacity to serve new customers while providing a new rental income stream from the scheme’s occupiers to help diversify its revenue.”
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