LOUGHGALL meat processing company, Hewitt Meats, has acquired Oakdale Meats' Lurgan abattoir for an undisclosed sum.
The 1.4 acre site on Annesborough Road in Lurgan - part of Dungannon and District Co-op - has been on the market since April with an asking price of £1.5 million.
At the time, commercial property agents Osborne King said the abattoir, which is set up for the slaughter of cattle, sheep and deer, had attracted strong interest from a number of potential buyers.
Hewitt Meats, which processes over 1,000 cattle per week and employs around 90 people at its de-boning facilities in Loughgall, supplies high quality catering butchers and supermarkets throughout the UK and Europe.
Managing director Jim Hewitt established the company in 1974 as a butchers shop on the family farm before acquiring an EC licence in 1985 and processing beef and supplying customers in the UK.
It is believed the acquisition, which dovetails with the current high level of investment by the company, will also safeguard jobs and increase numbers employed by Hewitt Meats by over 50 per cent.
Speaking at the announcement of the abattoir sale in April, Jonathan Keys of Osborne King said there had been interest from both established companies and those new to the industry "throughout the UK and Ireland".
"The sale presents a unique opportunity to acquire an abattoir business with potential for growth under new ownership, taking on the licenses, planning permissions and goodwill that the business already possesses," he said.
The last major expansion by Hewitt Meats was in 2008 when the company opened a new £750,000 facility and created 28 new jobs as part of its focus on faster export growth of red meat products.
The development came following the 2007 launch of new quality brand, Tara Meats, in partnership with Shannon Meats in Holland, which was targeted supermarket groups, independent retailers, high class hotels and restaurants throughout mainland Europe.
