The feed milling business of now-defunct family firm Pye Bibby is being split three ways in a joint venture between competing animal feed manufacturers.

Pye Bibby collapsed into administration in July with debts reportedly topping 25m and was immediately bought by Carrs Billington.

But the Cumbria-based firm has now sold 25% stakes in a renamed Bibby Agriculture to farm inputs supplier Wynnstay and Welsh Feed Producers. They each paid just 15,000, pledging financing worth a further 580,000.

Bibby’s Shrewsbury mill will still close, with its 110,000t production evenly split among the three companies, which will produce Bibby brand feeds from their own mills.

Bernard Harris, managing director of Wynnstay, said the deal would cut costs straight away by ensuring that each mill only supplied the farms nearest to it. “Haulage is the one area where we can immediately effect savings.”