Essex: Two Meat Factories Snapped Up

Jobs at two meat factories in Essex which had been up for sale are looking more secure after the owner of Fox's biscuits bought 11 sites from Vion.

Food group 2 Sisters has snapped up the factories, which make products from fresh chicken to beef burgers, in an undisclosed deal with Dutch-owned Vion, which put its UK business up for sale in November as part of a move to quit the UK.

Under the deal, 2 Sisters has acquired factories in Coupar Angus, Cambuslang and Portlethen in Scotland and Llangefni, Sandycroft and Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.

It has also taken over poultry factories in Basildon and Witham, and Eye in Suffolk, along with red meat factories in Victoria and Bodmin in Cornwall.

Vion announced it was putting its UK business up for sale in November as it turns its attention to its core markets in the Netherlands and Germany.

Chief executive of 2 Sisters, Ranjit Singh, said: "We are delighted to be acquiring Vion UK's poultry and red meat businesses. They have faced significant uncertainty and tough trading in recent months, but today's acquisition secures a viable future."

The deal comes after Vion announced it had lost a major poultry contract with Sainsbury's last year.

It marks 2 Sisters' first move into the red meat sector and the group said the deal would allow it to meet growing demand for British sourced products.

Clive Black, analyst at Shore Capital, said he sensed the acquisition would bring a "disciplined owner" to the factories, but warned the deal could be investigated by the Competition Commission after 2 Sister's parent company Boparan's recent acquisition spree, which included Brookes Avana from Premier Foods.