Munich, 20^th of January 2025:

AlphaPet Ventures, Europe’s leading digital brand platform for premium pet food, has acquired JR Pet Products, the leading premium brand of natural chews and treats for dogs in the UK. This acquisition marks another significant milestone in AlphaPet’s successful buy and build strategy and strengthens its footprint in the UK market.

AlphaPet Ventures (AlphaPet) is digitizing the pet market and successfully building and distributing premium brands across Europe. Its portfolio includes premium brands such as Wolfsblut, Wildes Land, Arden Grange, and Herrmann’s Manufaktur. AlphaPet’s strategy focuses on multi-channel distribution, emphasizing direct-to-consumer (D2C) sales through its own platforms. This is complemented by a highly customer-centric approach and strong B2B partnerships with retailers.

JR Pet Products (JR) was founded in 2012 by Jonathan and Rebecca Davies with seed investment from Stephen Tandy, a close friend of Jonathan. Today the JR brand is UK’s leading premium dog treat brand, offering a wide range of high-quality, natural dog chews and treats. With a strong focus on top-quality raw materials and products, JR has built a loyal and strong customer base. The brand distributes its products over its own D2C shop and via B2B partners.

Marco Hierling, founder and CEO of AlphaPet, on the acquisition: “Jonathan and Rebecca have built a fantastic brand. JR is an excellent addition to AlphaPet’s brand portfolio, aligning with our commitment to healthy and premium pet food, while offering a highly complementary product range.”

“By partnering with AlphaPet, JR will gain access to AlphaPet’s resources and European distribution network, unlocking substantial potential for future growth.” Fritjof Franz, partner at capiton explains.

Jonathan and Rebecca Davies, founders and managing directors of JR: “Our partnership with the AlphaPet team marks an exciting new chapter for JR. Together, we look forward to building on the strength of the brand, supported by our trusted suppliers and customers, to achieve our growth goals in the years ahead."

The whole team will stay on board and Jonathan and Rebecca Davies will continue as managing directors of JR.

The acquisition of JR is AlphaPet’s fourth acquisition since 2020 and the next step to strengthen its position as the leading European premium pet food and treats platform.

The acquisition was financed through a combination of equity and debt. Patria Investments, an existing capiton LP, acted as lead investor, alongside Venture Stars and existing AlphaPet shareholders. Mark Nicolson, Partner and Head of Primary Investments at Patria: “We are excited to enable the next chapter of value creation for AlphaPet and very much look forward to continuing our successful partnership with AlphaPet’s exceptional management team and capiton, one of the top performing managers in European private equity today.”

Debt financing was provided by CVC, demonstrating their ongoing support of AlphaPet’s buy and build strategy.

AlphaPet was advised by Ashfords (Legal UK), LutzAbel (Legal Germany), Deloitte (Financial and Tax), Allen & Overy (Financing Legal) and Sonntag & Partner (Tax Germany).