Simpsons Malt, the fifth-generation family malting and merchanting business headquartered in Berwick-upon-Tweed, has agreed to buy the grain merchanting business of W.N. Lindsay Ltd. The acquisition, which is subject to ongoing due diligence, is expected to be completed by the end of the year and will see Simpsons Malt operate four of W.N. Lindsay Ltd’s stores in Scotland within a new subsidiary company which will retain the name of W.N. Lindsay Ltd. The four stores, which are situated at Gladsmuir in East Lothian, Stracathro in Angus, Keith in Morayshire and Sidlaw in Perthshire, will provide more than 200,000 tonnes of extra in-house grain storage, further securing the malting barley supply chain and enhancing traceability for both the grower and end user.
The acquisition comes two months after the company announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire 40 acres of land in Rothes, Speyside, subject to planning and due diligence, where it intends to build a state-of-the-art maltings with malting barley storage facilities, increasing its number of sites in the UK from two to three. Andrew Lindsay, Managing Director of W.N. Lindsay Ltd, said:
“I am delighted that we have been able to agree the purchase of our family business by Simpsons Malt. “The combination of two fifth-generation family businesses with more than 300 years of history will enhance the supply chain across Scotland and I believe Simpsons Malt’s vision for the future aligns closely to that of our colleagues, suppliers and customers.”
Tim McCreath, Managing Director of Simpsons Malt, added: “W.N. Lindsay Ltd is an established, well known family business with an excellent reputation in Scottish and UK agriculture and we are delighted to have the opportunity to acquire its grain merchanting business. “This combination provides a strategic opportunity to further secure our malting barley supply chain, as well as to increase our product and service offering to our growers.
“All suppliers within the cereal supply chain are increasingly accountable to the end user and even the consumer – particularly on product traceability and sustainability – and as a pivotal buyer of malting barley and supplier of malt, we are ideally placed to play a leading role in improving supply chain management for the benefit of our growers, as well as our distilling and brewing customers. “W.N. Lindsay Ltd’s people and infrastructure will complement our own and, together with our ongoing investment in business systems and processes, this acquisition will be a positive step for the entire cereal and malt supply chain.”
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