Shakespeare Martineau has advised on the successful disposal of Armitage Pet Care to Rutland Partners.

Armitage is the largest independent manufacturer and supplier of premium branded pet treats and accessories in the UK. The business has a strong brand portfolio, including “GoodBoy”, a leading premium dog treats brand. From its manufacturing and distribution base in Colwick, near Nottingham, Armitage supplies over 2,000 products across the dog, cat, small domestic pets, bird and fish categories to a broad customer base including the major supermarkets and pet specialist retailers. The company currently has a turnover of around £45 million.

Headed up by partner Richard Wrigley, Shakespeare Martineau’s corporate team supported the sellers on the legal aspects of the transaction including pre-sale planning and legal advice on the sale process.

Shakespeare Martineau worked alongside PwC’s Midlands deals team who acted as lead advisor to the shareholders as well as providing tax advice. Corporate Partner Richard Wrigley led the team supported by legal director Emma Bryant with Hannah Oseland advising on banking aspects and Ollie Gutman on tax.

Rutland’s investment in Armitage represents an exciting scale opportunity to support and invest behind a successful incumbent management team and to build on current expansion plans. Further investment in infrastructure of the business, including significant brand support, new product development and IT, is required to allow the business to better serve its customer base and enable Armitage to develop substantial future opportunities.

Brian Round, one of the shareholders said, said “we were delighted with the proactive support from the high quality team at Shakespeare Martineau and we wish Armitage all the best in the future”.

Richard Wrigley, corporate and commercial partner at Shakespeare Martineau, said: “Acting for the sellers on this large and complex transaction has been a real pleasure. The transaction is testament to the strength of the local, buoyant marketplace and we’ll continue to watch the further development of Armitage with a great deal of anticipation."

Paul Bousfield, CEO of Armitage, said: “We are proud of developing Armitage into a high-quality treats and accessories business that has significantly changed the shape of the pet category. We are delighted to be partnering with Rutland who we are confident will be able to support us in our ambitious plans for the next phase of growth.”