A Devon duck and quail farm has doubled its egg laying production and bought processing equipment to enable it to sell quail meat.

Lower Henland Farm in Cullompton, also known as West Country Quail, has secured a six-figure finance package from HSBC with which to increase its duck and quail offering.

Marcus and Liz Warner, joint tenants of the 180-acre farm, have used the funding to buy an additional 3,600 ducks which have more than doubled their duck egg production, as well as processing equipment that will allow them to process their own quail meat.

The finance has also helped the couple build a new housing facility for the ducks and has enabled them to create three new jobs at the farm.

The couple currently sell duck and quail eggs to high-end supermarkets through the Clarence Court brand but they are looking to supply local restaurants with quail meat industry.

Liz Warner said: “Neither Marcus nor I are from family farms, which meant when we took on our first tenancy we struggled to find funding. Thankfully, HSBC has extensive agriculture experience and was willing to take us on as ambitious tenant farmers and support us with our growth plans."

The finance for Lower Henland Farm has been drawn from a £300 million lending fund committed by HSBC to support agricultural businesses in the UK as part of its wider support package to help British SMEs realise their growth ambitions.