A 90-year-old family-owned abattoir in north Cornwall has been bought by a global meat processing firm.

The HR Jasper & Son lamb abattoir in Launceston has been bought by Dunbia, a division of Dawn Meats.

The original Jasper sheep abattoir was at East Petherwin farm, South Petherwin in 1903 and in 1930, Harold Jasper formed the business HR Jasper & Son.

Today it employs 90 people and processes up to 10,000 lambs a week, selling products to retail, wholesale, foodservice and export markets.

Keith Jasper, managing director of HR Jasper & Son, said: “We have a proud history of providing great service to both our farmers and our customers and as the family now passes on the business, we are confident that Dunbia will continue that tradition.

"We have been doing business with Dunbia for many years. It’s a family business like ours and has previous experience of acquiring and developing businesses in the west country. Our family looks forward to continuing to work with Dunbia on the site.”

Dawn Meats, the parent company of Dunbia, bought the Jasper beef abattoir and boning facility in Treburley in Cornwall in 2014.

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Niall Browne, chief executive officer at Dunbia, said: “The reputation and demand for high-quality west country lamb is growing both within Britain and across Europe and we look forward to continuing to work with farmers in Cornwall and across the south west to promote this excellent product to both new and existing customers.”

Details of the deal remain confidential although Dunbia has confirmed that it is retaining all 90 members of staff on the site.

Andrew Smyth, livestock procurement director at Dunbia said: “The climate and excellent farming practices in this region will allow us to deliver the first British Spring lambs of the new season to our customers. This will be a great addition to our range of regional lamb products from Britain and Northern Ireland.”

Dunbia has more than 5,200 employees in the UK, sells into 50 countries and processes more than a million cattle and three million lambs each year.