Moray firm Lossie Seafoods now has iconic Arbroath smokies in its product range after swooping to buy Angus firm RR Spink and Sons out of administration.
The deal protects the jobs of 249 workers at Spink’s factory in Arbroath.
But the collapse of Spink, sister company Dawnfresh Seafoods and their parent, Dawnfresh Holdings, has resulted in 200 job losses at a processing plant in Uddingston, near Glasgow.
The companies were owned by one of Scotland’s richest men, billionaire businessman Alastair Salvesen.
The Uddingston site was earmarked for closure last September, when the Dawnfresh group announced it was shutting the facility and expanding its operation in Arbroath.
Around £5m was to be invested in the Angus processing plant, with 150 new jobs being created there in an expansion project backed by £960,200 from Marine Fund Scotland.
The value of the sale of Spink and its smokies to Buckie-based Lossie Seafoods, part of Associated Seafoods Limited (ASL) was undisclosed.
The addition of Arbroath will accelerate our planned strategic growth, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues through this next stage of our business development.”
Bill Hazeldean, chairman, Associated Seafoods.
Joint administrators for the failed Dawnfresh businesses revealed another group company, Dawnfresh Farming, was up for sale and would “continue trading solvently”.
The group’s farmed trout operations are spread across seven farms and hatcheries in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Scottish sites include a fish farm on Rothiemurchus Estate, near Aviemore.
Tom MacLennan, Callum Carmichael and Michelle Elliot, partners with FRP Advisory, are the administrators leading the hunt for a buyer.
The FRP trio are also managing the winding-up process for the “heavily loss-making” factory in Uddingston, where 77 Dawnfresh staff are being retained to assist them.
The assets of the Uddingston site, which includes the land, buildings and plant, will be marketed for sale.
Spink was founded as a family company in 1715. It produces a wide range of smoked and value-added fish products for a broad customer base, including Marks & Spencer.
ASL said the combination of its Buckie operation, which employs 300 people, and Spink would deliver annual turnover in the region of £85 million.
Victor West, managing director for the Moray seafood group, added: “This acquisition is a major boost for Arbroath and the town’s long-held fish processing tradition.
“Both businesses are major suppliers to Marks & Spencer, who are delighted that their two key suppliers of ready-to-eat seafood are joining ranks.
“We are thrilled the Arbroath site will become part of our group, which will significantly expand our production capability in both volume and range.”
ASL chairman Bill Hazeldean said: “Victor and his management team, together with all the employees at Buckie, have done a terrific job developing ASL into the successful business it is today.
“The addition of Arbroath will accelerate our planned strategic growth, and we look forward to working with our new colleagues through this next stage of our business development.”
‘Very serious’ financial problems
Explaining the collapse of the Dawnfresh firms, FRP said the group had been unable to overcome “very serious” financial problems at Uddingston, following “extensive investment” to upgrade its plant and systems, improve efficiency and reduce costs.
FRP added: “Despite best efforts to affect a turnaround, the business has continued to suffer from rising costs, overcapacity at the Uddingston site and unsustainable cash flow problems, with administration being the only option.”
Mr Carmichael said: “We are pleased to have secured a prompt sale of the Arbroath facility in a deal that will also preserve substantial employment in the town.
“Our focus is now on finding a buyer for the farming business, whilst also realising as much value as possible from the other assets for the benefit of creditors.”
North-east Conservative MSP Maurice Golden said: “Dawnfresh is a large employer in Arbroath, with a 50-year history as a major UK business.
“Takeovers and the administration process are always worrying for employees, so it is good the new owner holds RR Spink and the Angus operation in such high regard.”