Scottish seafood processing firm Thistle Seafoods has received a multimillion-pound asset-based working capital agreement from the Bank of Scotland to support its ongoing operations.
The agreement provides a platform to enable the Boddam-based business to enact a growth strategy, according to a company press release. Thistle Seafoods currently manufactures more than 150 products, and recently added gluten-free and dairy-free products to its lineup, in response to modern eating trends, it said.
“The new asset-based funding package from the Bank of Scotland streamlines our borrowings and provides us with useful headroom to fund future projects as well as the underlying growth of the business,” Thistle Seafoods Managing Director Ryan Scatterty said. “The business has gone from strength to strength over the past four years, reaching new domestic and export markets. Our dedicated team has been fundamental to our success and we hope to continue to build on this in the years to come.”
Thistle has logged a 35 percent growth in turnover between 2012 and 2016, it reported, driven by a 360 percent increase in export sales. The company has also increased employment to 450 total, up by 30 percent since 2012.
“[Thistle Seafoods] has recorded impressive growth over the last four years and the team is focused on building on this success and expanding the business further both at home and overseas,” Graeme Keen, the Bank of Scotland’s mid-markets relationship director, said.
The Bank of Scotland’s capital funding offer reflects its confidence in the food sector, as reported in Bank of Scotland’s fifth annual food and drink report.
“Across the Scottish food and drink industry, firms expect to increase their turnover by an average of 24 percent over the next five years and will continue to take advantage of the good reputation of Scottish produce in international markets,” Keen said. “Thistle Seafoods continues to be in a strong position to maximize their share of this growing global market. We look forward to supporting further growth in its established and prospective markets.”
