Barclays provides funding for animal feed acquisition

Oakes Millers Ltd, the Cheshire based animal feed specialist, has completed the acquisition of M E Waterhouse Ltd for an undisclosed sum, with support from Barclays Corporate Banking in Manchester.

A new term loan was arranged by Barclays Relationship Director Shaun Cross to assist Oakes Millers Ltd with the acquisition of a long established mill operation based in Malpas, Cheshire. This is in addition to current term debt and working capital facilities provided to the Oakes Millers group of companies.

Oakes Millers Ltd currently manufactures and distributes a range of animal feeds from three mills in Cheshire as well as a bulk processing site at Prees in Shropshire. The Group also manufactures a range of organic feeds and has a number of retail outlets across South Cheshire.

John Lea, Chairman of Oakes Millers Ltd, commented:

“This acquisition will enable us to expand our production capacity and bring increased manufacturing flexibility to the Oakes Millers Group in line with the significant increase in sales volumes we have experienced in recent years. Bringing this asset into the Oakes Millers business will provide the Group with the opportunity to further develop our product range to meet the changing demands of our customer base.”

“We have been very impressed with the holistic approach from Barclays, their appetite to do business in the current financial climate, and by the professional manner in which the Corporate Banking team delivered the deal.”

Shaun Cross, Relationship Director for Barclays Corporate Banking in Manchester, said:

“Oakes Millers continues to look to grow its market share in a sustainable, controlled manner. Our long standing desire to assist the Group, industry knowledge and appetite to provide new term debt to an existing client, ensured we remain the natural choice to support the business in its future development.

He continued, “Barclays remains committed to the North West business market and this deal highlights our appetite to support well managed businesses in a tough market and we look forward to helping the Group’s future expansion plans.”

About Barclays

Barclays is a major global financial services provider engaged in personal banking, credit cards, corporate and investment banking and wealth and investment management with an extensive international presence in Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia.

With over 300 years of history and expertise in banking, Barclays operates in over 50 countries and employs approximately 140,000 people. Barclays moves, lends, invests and protects money for customers and clients worldwide.
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