After weeks of negotiation, ABP has concluded a deal with Scotbeef to acquire its Bridge of Allen abattoir and Queenslie packing factory, both located in central Scotland.

Scotbeef describes itself as “one of the UK's largest privately owned fresh meat companies.”

Other sites at Inverurie, East Kilbride, Heysham, Telford, Sheffield and Wolverhampton along with Vivers Scotlamb are not part of the deal.

Who is Scotbeef?

Scotbeef is owned by the Galloway family, who trace their history in the business back to opening a butchers shop in Glasgow in 1888 and by 1953 they had 54 shops spread across the west of Scotland.

The Bridge of Allen abattoir was opened in 1981 and has been a key beef processor in the four decades since then, with a major upgrade done in 2001.

The 120,000 square foot retail packing facility at Queenslie was added in 2006.

Scotbeef has been an anchor supplier of beef to Marks & Spencer in a trading relationship that goes back to the early 1960s

What does it mean for ABP?

ABP is already a huge primarily meat processing business with a €5bn turnover and 13,000 staff spread over its 51 locations in Ireland, the UK and Europe.

This acquisition further consolidates its position in Scotland, where it already has a major beef processing factory in Perth, 50km east of the Scotbeef abattoir in Bridge of Allen.

Commenting on the acquisition, ABP Group CEO Frank Stephenson said: “It will be very much business as usual with a commitment to building on Scotbeef’s well-established tradition and reputation for high-quality Scottish red meat products.”