Dawn Meats has announced that it is taking full ownership of Dunbia with the retirement of Jim Dobson, who established the company with his brother Jack in 1976.

The companies completed a deal in 2017, with Dawn buying Dunbia’s site in Slane, while also becoming the main shareholder in Dunbia’s UK business.

It was set up as a joint venture, combining the UK operations of both companies under the Dunbia brand.

For the year ending December 2018, Dunbia Ltd reported operating profits of £6.8m (€7.5m) on a turnover of £1.09bn (€1.2bn).

Dawn Meats now owns 12 beef and sheep meat processing facilities that will still trade under the Dunbia brand in Britain and Northern Ireland

However, in the last few weeks, notice has been served that Dunbia Ltd is being wound up.

With Dawn taking complete control and the retirement of Jim Dobson, it marks the end of his involvement in a business that began with a butchers shop near Dungannon in 1976.

Dawn Meats now owns 12 beef and sheep meat processing facilities that will still trade under the Dunbia brand in Britain and Northern Ireland, while Dawn has 10 facilities located in the Republic of Ireland. It states that its combined throughput is 1m cattle, 3m sheep and they have 7,000 employees.

In taking total control of Dunbia, it means that Dawn along with ABP and Kepak control over two-thirds of the processing capacity for beef and sheep in the UK and Ireland.