Closer Pets (formerly Pet Mate)
Profile of the company
Founded in 1986 by husband and wife Chris and Barbara Kirk, Pet Mate is a market leader in its pet product niche and has grown consistently at 15% per annum in recent years to over £2m EBITDA. Under the brands of Cat Mate, Dog Mate, Fish Mate, the company has established a reputation (over 30 years) for designing and marketing unique and innovative ranges of patented pet products including pet doors, feeders, watering fountains, and pond filters.
From its headquarters in Walton-on-Thames, the company currently sells across UK, Western Europe, US and Australia. In partnering with CEO Andrew Lane, the buyout presents an opportunity to continue to deliver ongoing product innovation in technology-led products and to drive domestic and international expansion
| Sector | Pet Products |
|---|---|
| Location | Walton-on-Thames |
| Investment type | Buyout |
| Date of transaction | December 2019 |
| Status | Unrealised |
| Website address | https://closerpets.co.uk/ |
Andrew Lane, CEO, said:
“I am delighted that Ethos have invested in Pet Mate to pursue our growth strategy over the next few years. Having worked closely with Ethos over the last few months, I know they share the same level of ambition as me and the wider management team.”
Julian Carr, CEO at Ethos, commented:
“Pet products is a very attractive market with the ‘humanisation’ of pets and Chris and Barbara have successfully built a market leader in their niche. We look forward to working with Andrew and the wider management team to help deliver the next stage of growth in an attractive and growing sector and we are delighted to have given our private investors the opportunity to participate in an exciting journey.”
James Salmon, Director at Shawbrook Financial Sponsors, added:
“We are delighted to be backing Pet Mate, a long-established market-leader known for its range of high-quality tech-enabled pet products. The combination of current management with seasoned primary buyout operator Ethos, would seem the right fit to drive continued growth in its attractive end market.”