NORTH YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND — Inspired Pet Nutrition, a UK-based pet food and treat manufacturer, announced Dec. 3 plans to acquire Pet Food UK, a premium pet food and treat company with distribution in the United Kingdom and internationally.

Pet Food UK will be acquired from its previous founders and owner, Piper PE LLP. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Pet Food UK was founded in 2009 and currently manufacturers Barking Heads, Meowing Heads, Bailey Bites and, its latest addition, AATU: Evolutionary Natural Feeding for Dogs. The AATU brand was established in 2014 as an “uber-premium” dry dog food portfolio with formulations of 80% meat from single-source proteins and 20% vegetables. Today, AATU offers dry and wet dog and cat recipes adhering to the 80/20 formulation philosophy. Barking Heads and Meowing Heads both offer puppy and kitten, adult and senior formulas in wet and dry formats.

“We are very proud of the team we helped to build at Pet Food UK,” said Rory Gibbs, director of Piper Investment. “Through our partnership with them we were able to deliver significant growth, doubling sales and developing the brand into a digital-first business.

“The interest in Pet Food UK is testimony to the appeal of its brands… the quality of its pet food and the work done in recent years to build a loyal customer base,” Gibbs added. “We are delighted to see Pet Food UK join IPN, who share its values and commitment to the high-standards of product quality, innovation and sustainability, and we know the company and its brands will continue to flourish under their ownership.”

Inspired Pet Nutrition plans to add scale and expand international reach through the acquisition, which is expected to be finalized in the coming weeks.

“We are very excited to acquire [Pet Food UK], which is highly complementary to our business and our values,” said James Lawson, chief executive officer at Inspired Pet Nutrition. “This acquisition is consistent with our vision to create a unique portfolio of loved and sustainable pet care brands helping make quality pet care affordable and accessible to all.

“[Pet Food UK] brings to IPN highly recognized super and uber-premium brands with a strong digital presence to augment our strong product portfolio and distribution channels. We are impressed by the great progress of [Pet Food UK] in recent years and we look forward to welcoming the team and further supporting the company in continuing to grow.”

Inspired Pet Nutrition is a third-generation family-owned company that owns and produces two pet food and treat brands — Wagg and Harrington’s — sold across the United Kingdom. It was acquired by CapVest Partners from previous private equity owner, L Catterton, in December 2020.

“Pet Food UK is a fantastic addition to IPN which helps broaden and supplement our offering,” said Kate Briant, partner at CapVest. “It adds high quality brands to the portfolio, creates access to new segments and geographies and unlocks more distribution channels to further enhance our growth prospects. We are very pleased to support IPN with its first step in what we hope will be an active acquisition-led growth strategy.”

In November, Inspired Pet Nutrition announced it has achieved carbon negativity as part of its Positive Pawprint project addressing green energy, packaging sustainability, social responsibility and community engagement.

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