North-east meat firm forced to shut down

ABERDEEN Scotch Meat, which supplies meat to the catering trade, has gone into liquidation with the loss of 34 jobs after the collapse of a hotel chain left it with a bad debt of £330,000.

The firm, based in Inverurie, is a subsidiary of the Mathers group, also based in the town. Mathers bought the company out of receivership nine years ago.

The joint liquidators are Ken Pattullo and Scott McGregor, of Begbies Traynor.

Mathers managing director Michael Mountford said: "It is important to stress that Mathers is a successful company and this has been a reluctant and sad decision but has been taken to ensure the continued successful trading of the group as a whole."