Tulip and Cranswick snap up pig farming assets

22-Jan-2014 - Last updated on 23-Jan-2014 at 16:23 GMT

Dent Ltd has sold 18,000 pigs to Cranswick and Tulip

Meat processing firms Tulip and Cranswick have snatched some of pig farming business Dent Ltd’s assets from the jaws of administration.

In a statement issued by joint administrators Adrian Berry and Clare Boardman of Deloitte, Berry said: “We are delighted to confirm that we were able to conclude sales to Cranswick and Tulip on December 19 2013 and December 20 2013 respectively.

“This resulted in the sale of c. 18,000 pigs and related assets across 13 farms.”

Significant interest

Since Deloitte opened talks to sell Dent Ltd’s assets, it had received a significant level of interest, he added, so further deals after the partial sale look likely. “The joint administrators continue to trade out the remainder of the business and will continue to negotiate with a number of interested parties.”

Dent Ltd, which won an award for Leadership in Pig Welfare at the Compassion in World Farming Good Farm Animal Welfare Awards in 2011, was placed in administration on December 2, 2013.

At the time, the firm boasted £40M in sales and claimed to manage 100,000 finishing pigs, bred and reared in farms across the north west of England.

Related businesses North Lakes Food and Dent Company – a haulage business – were not placed in administration and continue to trade normally.

Deloitte has also continued to trade Dent Ltd throughout the administration process.