The sale of AHDB’s commercial subsidiary Meat and Livestock Commercial Services Limited (MLCSL) to Hallmark Veterinary Compliance Services is hoped to be completed in the next few months.
The move was first announced in March this year to help secure the long-term future of independent, manual, carcase classification services in Great Britain.
Substantial progress has been made on addressing the concerns raised by industry, and Defra has been kept fully informed.
Jane King, AHDB chief executive, said: “A lot of work has been going on behind the scenes by all concerned and we are now moving towards the end of the sale process.
We have listened to feedback from industry and approved the creation of an industry-led oversight committee to monitor the independence of the business after the sale is completed.
“We are now awaiting official confirmation that the sale can go ahead.
“I would like to thank all MLCSL staff for their professionalism and patience while this process has been ongoing.”
The move is said to be in response to a challenging business environment and the need to respond to new technology classification systems, such as Video Image Analysis (VIA).
AHDB believes that by moving the business into the private sector will open up opportunities for greater efficiencies and synergies that would not be possible under the current public ownership model and secure the future of the business.
The board said it had picked Hallmark Veterinary Compliance Services partly due to its strong track record delivering independent services to the meat industry.
No job losses are anticipated as part of the change of ownership.
A year-long process was undertaken to identify suitable companies that met robust criteria set down by the AHDB board, including value for money, a track record of delivering independent verification services to the meat industry and commitment to the long-term future of the business.
