Bella & Duke

finnCap has advised Bella & Duke (“B&D”) on a £3.5 million round led by Mobeus. The transaction leveraged the finnCap Private Fundraising Team’s strong track record in helping fast-growing, UK companies that have a management team seeking honest, unbiased advice on corporate finance.

Bella & Duke is the subscription home delivery service for premium raw dog food, making it easy for dog owners to feed their pets for optimum health.

Hugo Lough, who heads up the finnCap Private Fundraising Team said:

“We were delighted to be able to support Mark and Tony on their successful fundraise. Bella & Duke is a fast growing business in a hot sector and represents another direct to consumer growth deal for our team. The attraction of the business to prospective funders was not just the phenomenal growth in such a short space of time, but the whole ethos of the business.

“Mark and Tony have built a business that is focused on making a pets life as long and healthy as it can be. We wanted to be part of their journey and to help their quality offering reach as many customers as possible. We look forward to working with them in the future and seeing the success of the business in the coming years.”

As consumers increasingly prioritise the convenience of home delivery, and focus on fresh, natural ingredients for themselves, so too are they seeking those benefits on behalf of their pets. Management’s latest data indicates that B&D delivers around 11 million meals a year to the 45,000 dogs on its database and is on track to deliver 105% year-on-year revenue growth.

To make its highly rated meals, the team scrutinises and applies nutritional science, and sources the best local ingredients, which are blended in its own kitchen to human food consumption standards and frozen inside 30 minutes, before delivering on demand to customers’ doors nationwide, so all food arrives fresh without additives or preservatives.

According to a recent B&D survey, 91% of owners saw an improvement in their dogs’ digestion and overall health within eight weeks, when they switched to raw. There was a 100% improvement reported in dogs with IBS.

With this funding, the business aims to capitalise on its early mover advantage in a fast-growing niche of the large and established pet food market by further investing in sales and marketing, and recruitment.

Founded in 2016 by CEO Mark Scott and COO Tony Ottley, after their own dogs died prematurely from cancer, the business is also supported by Chair and serial entrepreneur Kevin Dorren. Kevin already works with Mobeus in his role as Chair of Parsley Box and who has significant experience in scaling DTC businesses, including Diet Chef. Mobeus Investment Executive, Joshua Henshaw will join the Board.

Joshua commented:

“This is a fantastic opportunity to work with Kevin and B&D’s strong management team on another high potential subscription business. Convenience coupled with quality has resulted in a compelling offer.”

To make its highly rated meals, the team scrutinises and applies nutritional science, and sources the best local ingredients, which are blended in its own kitchen to human food consumption standards and frozen inside 30 minutes, before delivering on demand to customers’ doors nationwide, so all food arrives fresh without additives or preservatives.

According to a recent B&D survey, 91% of owners saw an improvement in their dogs’ digestion and overall health within eight weeks, when they switched to raw. There was a 100% improvement reported in dogs with IBS.

With this funding, the business aims to capitalise on its early mover advantage in a fast-growing niche of the large and established pet food market by further investing in sales and marketing, and recruitment.

Founded in 2016 by CEO Mark Scott and COO Tony Ottley, after their own dogs died prematurely from cancer, the business is also supported by Chair and serial entrepreneur Kevin Dorren. Kevin already works with Mobeus in his role as Chair of Parsley Box and who has significant experience in scaling DTC businesses, including Diet Chef. Mobeus Investment Executive, Joshua Henshaw will join the Board.

Mark Added:

“We consult the latest research, speak with ground-breaking scientists and thought leading vets, look at clinical feedback and listen to our amazing customers, so that we know our meals will make a huge contribution in helping dogs achieve optimum health.”

Third party due diligence was carried out by Quest Corporate Finance (FDD), RPC (Legal DD) and Darren Hall (Operational DD).