ABP UK which now fully owns the former Scotbeef plant at Bridge of Allan, looks set to make its mark in the meat processing sector with massive investment planned.

That was the good news story from last weekend's Scottish National Premier Meat Exhibition stage at the plant during which the chief executive of ABP UK, Bob Carnell, underlined the Irish-owned business’ commitment to its facilities in Scotland.

“We are currently nearing completion of a £22m investment in our facilities at Perth – and this investment, which is supported by the Scottish Government, will transform Perth into one of the most modern processing facilities in the UK.

“It will benefit our farmer suppliers, ABP colleagues, and the local economy, whilst also creating 80 additional jobs,” said Mr. Carnell.

“We were delighted, therefore, to get final clearance from the Competition and Markets Authority last week, which means we can continue on our journey and look to the future as we go about building the business at ABP Bridge of Allan and our sister plant, ABP Penston (formerly Scotbeef Queenslie).

“We can now partner with our farmer suppliers, our retail partner Marks and Spencer, as well as industry bodies such as QMS, to help us build new and exciting opportunities for quality Scottish red meat products in Scotland, across the UK, and further afield,” he added.

Mr Carnell also revealed that Kinross-born Matthew Robson will move from being the boning hall operations manager at ABP Perth to being the new general manager at the Bridge of Allan site.

Steve McLean, agriculture manager with Marks and Spencer, stressed the importance of engagement with the wider stakeholders in the industry and said the brand valued to the collaborative approach to the red meat industry in Scotland. He added: “We’re looking forward to our partnership continuing with ABP.”