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Doherty & Gray to build £1.25m expansion
30th November 2009
The Ballymena-based beef and lamb company, Doherty & Gray, has announced plans to increase production and create up to ten new jobs.
The Ballymena-based beef and lamb company, Doherty & Gray, has announced plans to increase production and create up to ten new jobs.
A total of £1.25m is being invested in new production and associated facilities to take forward the company’s growth plans. Bank of Ireland Northern Ireland is providing £750,000 in funding, with £500,000 coming from the European Agricultural and Forestry Processing & Marketing Grant (PMG) Scheme which is delivered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
The expansion will increase production by 80% and enable the company to deliver much larger retail contracts to customers including several major UK retailers.
The new production facilities will support Doherty & Gray as it looks to increase retail market share of its sausage and burger brands: Saints and Scholars, Hulls and Prima Valley. The company plans to build on its core markets in Northern Ireland and Great Britain and expand through further exports to the Republic of Ireland. Doherty & Gray also supplies wholesale beef and lamb to local butchers, Great Britain and mainland Europe.
Seamus Doherty, a director of the company, said: “This project is key to supporting our business through its next phase of growth. Bank of Ireland was willing to work closely with us and look at different options to help fund the project. In addition to competitive borrowing rates, their knowledge of our industry was an important factor in our decision to select them as our banking partner.”
Alastair Kane, Business Centre Manager, Bank of Ireland, Ballymena said: “It is exciting to see a local business with ambitious plans for further export and growth on a national scale. This deal is testament to Bank of Ireland’s commitment to supporting businesses in Northern Ireland as they expand, providing positive contributions to the local economy and jobs market.”
Pauline Keegan, Director of Rural Development, from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said, “This is a key development in the Northern Ireland Agricultural sector which allows this successful local business to increase its production capacity and supply several of the major retailers in the UK market.”
© Bank of Ireland 2012
