EAST ANGLIAN grain marketeer Fengrain has overwhelmingly voted to reject plans to merge with Centaur Grain.

Members of the farmer-controlled business called for the deal to be scrapped by 185 votes to 45 when they met last week for an extraordinary general meeting.

In terms of grain volumes marketed, though, the vote was much closer: just 130,000t versus 122,000t.

But the majority of Fengrain’s members, who produce around 700,000t of cereals for marketing each year, did not vote.

The merger proposal, which had been enthusiastically championed by the boards of both Centaur and Fengrain, provoked complaints from scores of Fengrain members over a lack of consultation.

Centaur said it hoped to squeeze cost savings out of synergies with Fengrain if the merger went through.

Chairman John Heading resigned following the poll, and Fengrain is now looking to move forward in its own right.