Grampian Country Food Group

In April 2008 it was reported that "Grampian Country Food Group, the biggest supplier of meat and poultry to British supermarkets, is this weekend on the verge of securing a sale to Vion, a Dutch rival, expected to value it at about £350m...

"Grampian's majority shareholder, Fred Duncan, stands to make tens of millions of pounds from any takeover, although the company's reported debts of around £300m make the exact size of his likely windfall unclear. Duncan's company, which he founded in 1980 and built through a string of acquisitions, has come under pressure from soaring commodity and energy prices and growing public disdain for mass-processed food.

"Vion, which is privately owned and Europe's largest food producer, had been vying with CCMP Capital, a private equity group, in the final stages of the auction of Grampian. Several other foreign food companies, such as Brazilian giant Sadia, also submitted bids for Grampian, which styles itself as a company with the philosophy of supplying food "from plough to plate".

"HBOS, which is Grampian's banker, is also understood to own a stake in the food producer of less than 20 per cent and is thought to have been pushing for a sale of the company for some time.

"Grampian, which is based in Aberdeen, processes nearly 3m chickens every week as well as large volumes of red meat and pork. It supplies major supermarkets including Tesco, Sainsbury, Asda, Morrisons, and Marks and Spencer and in addition to own-label products, also supplies foods branded as Highland Organics and Cookstown.

"Grampian employs nearly 20,000 people, and has a turnover of £1.8bn, with the majority of its operations in Britain and Thailand..."

"Grampian, Scotland’s second-largest private company, employs 13,000 people in Britain and is the biggest supplier of meat and poultry to the UK’s supermarkets. Its customers include TESCO and MARKS & SPENCER. The firm also owns a number of brands, including Malton Food Co, Highland Organics, Cookstown sausages — which were endorsed by soccer legend George Best in his 1960s heyday — plus haggis and sausage maker Hall’s." 

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