our founder

DENIS LYNN 1957-2021

Denis founded Finnebrogue in 1991 – and remains our inspiration.

He spent more than thirty years leading Finnebrogue’s extraordinary growth and was the driving force behind several ground-breaking innovations.

Today, Finnebrogue remains a family business, with Denis’ widow Christine and his daughters, Tara, Ciara, Clare and Kerry playing an active role.

denis lynn

UK’s most innovative business leader

Starting his career by selling pizzas and pies out of a little white van, Denis soon discovered a new French fry and became the largest customer of Lord Chips in Europe, using the money raised to buy the beautiful 600 acre Finnebrogue estate in 1991. 

During the 1990s, he was a beef farmer and then a deer farmer. Denis established Finnebrogue as the leading farmer and processor of deer in the UK, supplying Michelin star restaurants, top supermarkets and celebrity chefs.

Since then, he was at the heart of many food revolutions, from the posh dog to nitrite-free bacon. In five years from 2015, he opened four state-of-the-art factories, grew the business’s turnover to nearly £150m and built one of the best teams in the food industry, which is now pressing ahead with realising Denis’s vision.

Through his charity work, Denis helped to eradicate childhood malaria deaths in an entire district of southern Malawi, supported Cancer Fund for Children and helped to tackle holiday hunger long before it was fashionable.

A decade ago he partnered with Fareshare to ensure thousands of warm meals were making their way to families that needed them.

In 2018, the Institute of Directors named Denis the UK’s most innovative business leader of the year. Today he remains our inspiration.