Linden Foods sees 10% rise in turnover

Northern Irish meat supplier Linden Foods has posted a 10 per cent increase in turnover to more than £150m.

The Dungannon-based business has put the growth down to a "mixture of volume and price increases during the year".

Linden Foods has posted group turnover of £150.9m for the year to 30 September 2011, compared with £137m in the previous year. The company has been successful with a number of innovative products including its Banquet Rose Veal.

Turnover, including the company's share of joint ventures, was £259.4m in 2011. This is compared with turnover of £227.7m in 2010.

Linden Foods was first founded in 1984 as Granville Meat Company. In 1994 the business was acquired as by partnership of Fane Valley Co-Op and Ulster Farmers Investments Ltd.

Granville merged with Milltown Livestock and Meat Company in 1998 and a year later, the combined business was renamed Linden Foods.

Linden Foods is part of the Linden Food Group, which includes Slaney Foods and Irish Country Meats. The group has four locations in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

Writing in the annual report, the company's directors said: "The group has continued its strategy of expanding the capability within the business to create an entity suited to attacking the upper ends of the retail and food service sectors within the UK and European markets.

"Allied to this is the strategy of targeting resource to develop retail ready products, enabling the business to continue to grow and add value through new product development aimed at engaging the customer closer to the high street.

"The group includes in its target market the premier restaurant and hotel trade in Ireland. The business remains fully aware of its environmental responsibilities and is working to bring its waste disposal and procurement costs in house."