Wild Thang manufactures and supplies a full range of branded marketing materials for major household names and says it will increase staff numbers by 25%. Tony McDonough reports

Brand marketing specialist Wild Thang is investing more than £2m in the redevelopment of its Liverpool headquarters and aims to grow its workforce by 25%.

Based in Derby Road close to Liverpool’s northern docklands, Wild Thang manufactures and supplies a full range of branded marketing materials. Its clients have included Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Wembley Stadium, Liverpool and Everton football clubs.

The business, which employs more than 30 people, was founded 20 years ago by Andrew Dwerryhouse with a £1,500 grant from the Princes Trust and it now employs more than 30 people. Still the managing director of the firm, Andrew says he is now ready to take Wild Thang “onto the next level” and said the major project to expand the premises and manufacturing capacity has been three years in the planning.

“This is a big moment in the company’s history, maybe even the biggest moment ever, so we are incredibly excited to announce the major redevelopment of our premises and production over approximately the next four months,” he said.

“We started the process by finding the right architects. After talking to a number of local companies we felt that K2 Architects were a great fit for what we wanted to achieve with a good track record.

“They have been with us on the journey right from the start and have guided us through the complex design process of planning to get the best possible final result.”

Andrew also said Liverpool City Council’s Better Roads programme, which has seen millions of pounds spent on upgrading the Derby Road/Great Howard Street corridor, a major route in and out of the city centre.

Wild Thang has enjoyed growth of around 18% for the past three years and and aiming for further 20% growth following completion of the project. Andrew added staffing levels would also increase by up to 25% over the next two to three years.

He added: “Things have really never looked more positive for Wild Thang and we are now Liverpool city region’s biggest supplier in our sector. After 23 years in business we are more excited than ever about the future opportunities for the company and its employees.

“We have already made positive progress with ground work happening over the last three months with the help of a fantastic development team. It’s a long process to bring a development to fruition and you need the right team around you.”

Fellow Wild Thang director Chris Dwerryhouse said: “We have managed to keep as many links to Liverpool city region as possible. The work was competitively tendered and we were over the moon when local company Frank Rogers Building Contractors were the successful candidate to win the contract.

“Two final pieces of the jigsaw are firstly Box Clever, who again had to be exactly the right fit, they have now taken us through the tender process and will be helping us deliver the development scheme as project managers until final handover, their advice and expertise to date has been truly invaluable.

“Finally our bankers Natwest have also supported us throughout the journey of the development and we are thankful for their ongoing financial support.