New Asda deals for Northern Irish meat processors

Northern Ireland meat companies Karro Food Group and Doherty & Gray have secured new listings with supermarket giant Asda in time for the barbecue season.

Doherty & Gray, based in Ballymena, will supply its six ounce steak burgers and four ounce beef burgers, sold under its Hulls brand, in Asda's 17 stores throughout Northern Ireland.

And Karro, which is based in Yorkshire but has major operations at Cookstown in county Tyrone, will supply giant sausages from its famous Cookstown range to the supermarket chain.

Trevor Mounstephen, account manager at Cookstown, commenting on the significance of its business with the retail giant, says: "Our ongoing business with Asda helps sustain 875 employees at our Cookstown factory and also provides a marketplace for all our locally sourced pork."

Earlier this year Karro Food Group was sold by former private equity owners Endless to CapVest Partners.