Irish mushroom producer the McGeary Group has strengthened its Scottish operations with the purchase of Cairns Mushrooms.
The acquisition by the County Armagh-based company, one of Ireland’s leading compost manufacturers and mushroom suppliers, means it now has a second growing and processing plant in south west Scotland.
Thomas McGeary, group md, said Cairns, which employs 26 people in Ayr, was purchased for a six-figure sum and would complement their operations at Kilmarnock.
The purchase would allow the group to service its UK customers, including the Co-op and Lidl, more efficiently and effectively, he added.
He shrugged off fears for the UK mushroom industry in the face of rising competition from cheap imports.
“We firmly believe there is a future for mushroom production in the UK and Ireland at the present time, and we are prepared to invest accordingly.
“The influx of cheap Polish imports has resulted in a spiralling downward of prices in the market. Efficiency of production at all levels is the only way forward for the industry as it represents the only means by which we can meet the challenge of imports head on.”
He said the McGeary Group’s success over the years had been down to putting its customers first, and the purchase of Cairns was set to strengthen that.
