CALEDONIAN MARTS and rural surveyors and consultants Davidson and Robertson officially launched their new partnership at the start of this month.

D and R's Linlithgow team now has a meeting room at the Stirling mart, with staff on the ground each week and for special sale days.

Director George Hipwell expressed his excitement about the new opportunities the partnership brings: “Cally Mart is a great opportunity because it has a loyal farming base that extends beyond the geographical boundaries of Stirling. Farmers travel miles to sell stock and equipment or engage with property services because, in addition to selling well, they appreciate the friendly, personal service Cally Mart provides. Relationships with clients are very important to us too.

“At the launch, we spent the morning in the mart, chatting to buyers and sellers and had a very encouraging response," said Mr Hipwell. "Whilst everyone had heard of us, many didn’t realise the breadth of services we offer, and we’ve already had some interesting conversations.”

Cally MD, John Kyle, said: “We always believed that both businesses have a down to earth, practical approach, putting customers at the heart of what we do, but that became even more evident today.

“The feedback from the farmers has been very encouraging. This afternoon, when we sat down with D and R for our first full team briefing, it was great to hear case studies of how they have added real value to the businesses they support.

“One of the key messages that came out of the meeting was the benefit of getting D and R involved at an early stage," said Mr Kyle. "They highlighted several examples that demonstrated how they made a bigger difference by getting involved at the very start of projects. Hearing these examples really helped our team understand what they have to offer and we’re excited to see how this new relationship develops.”

Commenting on the success of the launch D and R managing director, Martin Hall, said: “From the outset, in terms of customers and skill sets, this partnership looked a good fit from inside and out. Cally Mart is a livestock business, but ultimately, like us, they are also in the people business.

“Life and rural matters are increasingly complicated. The day where one person could do everything is gone and today you need to work with specialists - that’s also where this partnership works too.”