Hook 2 Sisters to buy 2 Agriculture chicken business

Broiler growing company 2 Agriculture has announced it is at an “advanced” stage in selling its farming and live bird haulage operation to Hook 2 Sisters.

In a letter to about 120 growers, 2 Agriculture director Lionel Halls says the ongoing review of the organisation has now been completed, culminating in the sale of the growing and catching/collection businesses.

“As you may know, Hook 2 Sisters is a joint venture between PD Hook Group and 2 Sisters Food Group, and has been trading successfully to supply 2 Sisters Poultry with live birds for many years,” he said.

“This combined, focused business will bring a number of synergies and advantages, not least of all by using joint learning to drive best practice right across the whole business.

“The clarity and certainty this news now brings is fundamental to ensuring that 2 Sisters Poultry continues to lead the way in delivering a consistent, quality bird at the right price,” added Mr Halls in his letter.

The sale will effectively bring to an end any commercial activity for 2 Agriculture. The business was set up in March 2013 to take control of Vion’s agricultural activities , following the purchase of Vion’s red meat and poultry processing operations by 2 Sisters.

Since then, 2 Agriculture has been engaged in a series of sell-offs, including the seven hatcheries and all the breeder and rearing farms to PD Hook in April this year.

This was followed by an announcement in May that 2 Agriculture is also selling its four ex-Vion feed mills to leading poultry feed producer AB Agri.

Hook 2 Sisters director James Hook said it would be “business as usual” for the 2 Agriculture contracted and owned farms affected. “We need all the production we can get,” he said. “These producers were supplying 2 Sisters anyway, and we have no plans for any redundancies. 2 Agriculture was always just a holding company.”

The purchase, which is expected to be completed in August, will double turnover for Hook 2 Sisters from about three million chickens a week to six million chickens a week. There will be a series of producer meetings in August, once the deal is signed off, Mr Hook added.