Jobs saved after Dawnfresh Seafoods processing facility in Uddingston bought over

Dozens of jobs have been saved after one the UK’s largest fish and seafood processors was bought over.

Peterhead-based Thistle Seafoods will take over the former Dawnfresh site in Uddingston retaining 40 staff.

The deal, which has been secured for an undisclosed sum, includes the 100,000 sq ft South Lanarkshire facility and industrial unit with processing, warehousing, administration and cold store facilities.

Workers were turned away and 200 redundancies were announced when the firm slipped into administration in March.

But Thistle Seafoods said the site will now form part of their plans to develop a “leading sea-to-plate processing business” with both national and international appeal.

Ryan Scatterty, the company’s managing director, said: “We are delighted to welcome an extra 40 staff to our business and plan to recruit further this year as we build our business.

“The acquisition of the Uddingston facility is an ideal fit for our business as it will provide us with a strategic processing, storage and distribution hub with ready access to the key transport networks to better serve our domestic customers.

“It will also allow us to further expand our product offering and capitalise on our fast-growing export markets.”

A sister site in Arbroath – where Dawnfresh owned the historic RR Spink brand – was sold to Lossie Seafoods Ltd, a subsidiary of Associated Seafoods Limited (ASL) earlier this year.

That deal included the 249-strong workforce being retained.

Dawnfresh, which owns seven fish farms across Scotland and Northern Ireland, continues to trade, but will be marketed for sale in the coming months by administrators FRP Advisory.

Callum Carmichael, partner with FRP Advisory and joint administrator, said that the deal was an excellent outcome for all parties.

He added: “We are delighted to have agreed a sale to Thistle Seafoods, which is very well placed to integrate the site and facilities into their own fast-growing business.

“It is also particularly rewarding that the deal also includes the transfer of 40 employees.

“We wish Thistle Seafoods every success with their acquisition and with their plans to develop and grow the business.”