Biotech firm buys fish lab

Benchmark Holdings, the Sheffield-based biotechnology firm that bought Scottish Enterprise’s BioCampus manufacturing plant in May, will today unveil a second acquisition north of the Border.

The group has bought the Ardtoe marine laboratory in Argyll from Viking Fish Farms for an undisclosed sum.

Benchmark said it would retain all nine staff at Ardtoe and that it planned to make a “significant investment”, which would include creating jobs.

Tim Atack, managing director at Ardoe, which was founded in 1965, said: “This is a real opportunity for us to expand our business.”

Benchmark employs more than 170 people in six countries and owns Inverness-based Fish Vet Group, which provides services to fish farms and employs about 30 staff.