Building the Highland Lamb premium Aberdeenshire based Scotch Premier Meat is now offering lamb under the Highland Lamb brand to complement its well established Scotch Premier branded beef. The move follows the purchase of the Grants of Dornoch abattoir in Sutherland, completely refurbished to EU standards in the 1990s. Scotch Premier has since installed a new sheep slaughter line. It is believe the ANM Gorup parent is prepared to invest £1m to establish the Highland Lamb brand as a quality, premium product. "The challenge of running a profitable lamb slaughtering and processing facility will not be easy but it is a challenge we must face up to as a group," said chief executive Brian Pack. Scotch Premier pulled out of lamb slaughtering in 1998 following the closure of its Edinburgh abattoir in the wake of the BSE crisis. Since then it has had lambs slaughtered on contract at other plants. It now plans to build throughput from 500 to 5000 head per week as marketing opportunities develop. The company is confident the image of naturally produced lamb from the Scottish Highlands and Islands will appeal to consumers. Another ANM Group subsidiary H&I Livestock of Inverness has been appointed sole procurement agent for the new plant. {{MEAT }}

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