Wales’ answer to Willy Wonka is expanding production with the opening of a new factory, supported by a £150,000 loan from the Development Bank of Wales and £114,000 from Merseyside-based co-investors, Bathgate Business Finance.
Richard Holt, owner of chocolatiers Mr Holt’s, is a former pastry chef and star of S4C’s pastry programme Yr Academi Felys (The Sweet Academy). He has run the chocolate factory and café at a former mill at Melin Llynon, near Llanddeusant on Anglesey. He has been crafting a popular Siocled range of Welsh chocolates, along with a unique range of Anglesey-branded donuts - nicknamed monuts.
A loan of £150,000 from the Development Bank of Wales, £84,000 from Bathgate Business Finance’s own funding book, Bathgate Capital, and a further £30,000 brokered by Bathgate from a specialist funder, is now enabling Richard to expand chocolate production with a newly refitted factory at nearby Llangefni. New and improved machinery will allow Mr Holt’s to meet rising demand.
Richard is confident that the new factory, which boasts more floor-space than the former production facility at Melin Llynon, will allow the business to get its chocolates out to more hungry chocoholics than ever before.
This is the second time the business has received support from the Development Bank, following an initial loan of £30,000 in 2019.
Richard said: “We’ve seen so much success in the last few years, and we wanted to make sure we could answer that increased demand by building up our capacity and taking on newer, bigger production premises. The new factory in Llangefni is exactly what we needed, while also allowing us to keep making chocolate locally and retaining important jobs on Anglesey.
“We’re so pleased with the support we had from the Development Bank of Wales and co-investors Bathgate – it’s allowing us to expand our operations at exactly the right time.”
Andrea Richardson, Senior Portfolio Executive at the Development Bank of Wales, said: “It was a pleasure to work with Richard and the team at Mr Holt’s. They have a distinctive Welsh brand with a popular product, and their unique chocolates get mouths watering across the UK and beyond.
“We’re proud to have supported them as they look to rise to new opportunities thanks to their rapidly growing profile. We wish them the very best as they continue with their future plans.”
Tracey Hamilton, BDM from Bathgate Business Finance, said: “Richard, his family and his team of chocolatiers have created an excellent product that is already a Welsh gifting staple and in huge demand further afield too.
“A great deal of creativity and imagination has gone into developing confectionery brand, and the factory site into a fantastic and engaging attraction too, with a chocolate factory-themed escape room and activities to attract visitors to the area too.
“Richard has not only developed a unique and delicious product, but he has also created jobs for local people and delivered affordable luxury for his customers. We wish Richard and the whole team the best of luck and we’ll certainly be tucking in to Mr Holt’s treats to celebrate!”
The Development Bank Wales loan for Mr Holt’s came from the Wales Flexible Investment Fund. It offers finance for deals between £25,000 and £10 million, with loans, mezzanine finance and equity investments available. The £84,000 finance from Bathgate Business Finance, comes from its own funding book, Bathgate Capital, which hit a landmark £5 million in capital lending in March 2025, the highest in the company’s 34-year history.
For more information, visit www.developmentbank.wales and bathgatebf.co.uk
