Mathers in expansive mood following buy of Bain Further processed and perhaps even ready meal game products are on the cards following the latest rescue of Scotland's biggest game dealer ­ the second inside a year. The new owner of the Bain of Tarves in Aberdeenshire is local meat company Mathers (Inverurie) with the merged group to be renamed Aberdeen Scotch Meat. Michael Mountford, Mathers' md, who will retain that title in the new company, said he saw major growth opportunities for game throughout Europe as well as in more accessible further processed or ready meal form in Britain. "This is another valuable string to our bow. We will be using the plant and equipment of Bains, which operates in four Scottish centuries, to expand our range of business and services to our customers," he said. The company already has a wide portfolio of multiples, including Marks and Spencer, as well as Harrods, caterers and independent wholesalers and retailers. With an annual turnover of £36m, this private company currently employs 160 staff. The new acquisition will add a further 118. This is currently under review and could go up or down, says Mountford. Before it went into receivership with debts of £2m last January, it was run by John Bain, a director of Mathers. He remained as md of Bain 2000, the country which emerged after a consortium of Dutch Buyers purchased the company from receiver PricewaterhouseCoopers for £5m in May. A spokesman for PWC said the consortium had failed to meet the financial timetable, forcing them to seek another buyer. Mountford said the price involved was "quite a sum". The company is in talks with a number of supermarkets about expanding the range of products on offer. {{MEAT }}