State's largest fish farm business is put up for sale

THE State's largest fish farm business - Gaelic Seafoods Ltd - is for sale because the owners believe it is a good time to dispose of a viable asset, the company's managing director said yesterday.

Mr Pat Gillen said the decision to sell the salmon farm business, which includes its Scottish operations, was taken by the three directors, Mr Stuart Baillie, Mr Richard Gabriel and Mr Dan Drew, before Easter in preference to a flotation.

"They have brought it to the stage of development that they want and they believe at this stage that it is an excellent time to sell," Mr Gillen said.

Mr Baillie is currently on bail in Scotland with his father, Malcolm, on an unrelated charge of obtaining more than £12 million sterling by fraud. He stepped aside as managing director "pending the resolution of this matter", according to the company, after he was charged on January 30th.

Last Tuesday an advertisement appeared in the Financial Times looking for a buyer for the company, which has 250 full-time and about 100 part-time employees. Mr Gillen said that about two-thirds of the company's operations were tied up in Ireland.

Among its fish farm sites are three formerly owned by the ESB and acquired by Gaelic Seafoods for about £4 million in 1995, with the approval of the former Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications, Mr Michael Lowry. The company received, Udaras na Gaeltachta grants.

"The jobs are totally safe, absolutely no question about that because it is mainly a production operation . . . It is a very important business in Ireland, partly because it is peripherally located," he said.

The company was unnamed in the advertisement but it said the aquaculture business "is believed to be the third-largest producer in the EU, with 1996/97 turnover at £20 million and enjoys a substantial European wholesale and retail customer base".

Mr Gillen said the selling price was "an unknown figure" and that it would be unfair to bidders to disclose an approximate price. The company, which farms salmon, has five saltwater sites in the south west, and seven sites in the west. It also has seven freshwater sites.

He added that the company had a profit margin of over 10 per cent, making a profit of over £3 million in 1995/96.