Family-owned meat processor Scotbeef has sold two of its facilities employing hundreds of people to Ireland’s ABP Foods.

The abattoir at Bridge of Allan near Stirling and a meat packing facility at Queenslie in Glasgow will become part of ABP’s UK meat division, which includes an existing processing facility in Perth. The deal, which has been completed for an undisclosed sum, is expected to close at the end of July.

A spokesman for Scotbeef, which was founded in 1920 and run by the fourth generation of the Galloway family, declined to comment on whether the sale of the two facilities was linked to recent events at its Wolverhampton operation.

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It was reported in April that more than half of the 98 employees at Wolverhampton were at risk of redundancy after Scotbeef lost a large contract with Aldi, meaning there was no longer enough work to sustain staffing levels. Scotbeef produces primary and added-value red meat products for the UK retail sector, food service providers, and for export.

The spokesman for Scotbeef said the two sites sold to ABP employ “several hundred” permanent and agency staff. “Likewise”, he added, there are several hundred across the company’s remaining sites in Inverurie, East Kilbride, Annan, Heysham and Wolverhampton.

In a statement chief executive Robbie Galloway said: “This sale is the right move for our staff and producer suppliers, and also for Scottish agriculture as it secures the ongoing viability of these slaughtering and packing facilities in Scotland.

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“Like Scotbeef, ABP is a family-run business and we have been working closely with them to ensure a smooth transition. We are appreciative of the support and help we have received from the Goodman family and their ABP colleagues as we have gone through this process. We wish them well for the future with this acquisition.”

ABP is one of Europe’s leading food processors with more than 13,000 staff across four divisions: red meat, pet foods, renewables, and protein. It has processing facilities in nine countries and turnover of more than £4 billion.

“We look forward to working with the team in Scotbeef to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for farmer suppliers, colleagues and customers at the Queenslie and Bridge of Allan plants,” ABP chief executive Frank Stephenson said. “It will be very much business as usual with a commitment to building on Scotbeef’s well established tradition and reputation for high quality Scottish red meat products”.