ANM to quit meat processing with further disposals

ANM Group is to sell its two remaining meat processing interests, Scotch Premier Meat and Yorkshire Premier Meat.

The announcement comes after a strategic review and follows the sale in March this year of its loss-making Charcuterie Continental cooked meat business.

A board decision had been taken to refocus on the group’s traditional core businesses of auction and valuation services and property, said a statement.

UK meat businesses are suffering difficult trading conditions but substantial improvements had been made to the costs and operations of both Scotch Premier and Yorkshire Premier over the past few months.

Losses in the meat division were mainly to blame for a trading loss of £2.517m last year across the Aberdeen-based group. However, performance varied widely between divisions with the core operation, Aberdeen & Northern Marts, seeing profits rise to £1.223m in the year ended 31 December 2011, up from £879,000 in 2010.