Whitby-Rockall deal sorts scampi supply

Scampi supplier Whitby Seafoods has swallowed up Northern Irish processor Rockall Seafoods in a move that will boost the group’s raw material supply.

Whitby has purchased 100% of the share capital of Rockall through its subsidiary Middleton Seafoods for an undisclosed sum. The purchase will take Whitby’s group turnover to about £30m.

“It gives Whitby more access to the Irish catch,” said sales and marketing director Laura Whittle. This was useful because langoustine catches in the North Sea and off the East coast of Scotland had been down recently, but Irish catches were more buoyant, she added. Whitby would gain access to an additional 900 tonnes of scampi tails per year as a result of the deal.

Jack Cowden of Middleton Seafoods said the deal would “improve the competitiveness of Ireland’s scampi industry at a time of acute pressure.”