© Pontus Research
Pontus Research, which develops aquafeeds and feed ingredients, and which has just celebrated its 10th anniversary, has secured a loan of £80,000 from the Investment Fund Wales, allowing the company to maintain all of its employees whilst also facilitating the firm’s next period of growth.
“Up until the pandemic the business was hitting all its targets – we’d raised £1.2m from private equity investments, grant funding from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and private and public debt funders. However, buying the 2,600 square metre site complete with a 1,000 sq mt building, and the subsequent investment, came at a time that no-one could have predicted, and we have been working hard to get on an even keel ever since,” said Jack James, founder and chief executive of Pontus, according to BusinessLive.
“Put simply, a few months back I wasn’t able to see a near future where the company was healthy enough to genuinely celebrate our ten-year milestone,” he added.
In light of the financial stability provided by the funding, James hopes to get the business back on track, and hints at some exciting projects to be unveiled in the near future.
“We have a great pipeline of research projects, whilst our recent expansion and addition of a research-scale feed mill is forecast to grow our customer base for R&D work and feed production. Alongside this, we are developing a footprint in Asia, after opening a Singapore base and successfully operating that for over two years. I can’t thank BCRS and the British Business Bank enough for their support and I am hugely excited to see how the business develops, both in Wales and overseas,” he concluded.
