Two of Scotland’s longest established fresh produce organisations, East of Scotland Growers Ltd (ESG) and R&K Drysdales Ltd (RKD), have merged to create the growing business, Pease Bay Farms.

ESG is a farmer owned co-operative with 15 growers based in Fife, Angus, Perthshire, Kincardineshire and the Scottish Borders who produce a large variety of vegetables and brassicas on more than 6000acres.

RKD is one of the UK’s leading Brussels sprout growers and packers, with one of the most sophisticated and high output grading, packing and storage facilities in Europe. In addition to Brussels sprouts, RKD also grow and pack swedes and leeks at their state-of-the-art facilities in Berwickshire.

Aligning the two organisations, couples Scotland’s leading vegetable growers to the premier brassica packer in the country. It also complements the winter cropping of RKD to the summer cropping portfolio of ESG, creating a sustainable, year-round producer.

Andrew Faichney, managing director of East of Scotland Growers, said: “This merger is unique within Scotland and combines two firms with a longstanding history of high-quality produce. With a collective turnover approaching £50m this merger provides stability and security for our membership and will provide an additional range of products and value to our customer base.

“This is a very exciting development not just for the ESG and RKD stakeholders, but the entire fresh produce farming industry here in Scotland.”

The merger deal was managed by Alistair Lang at Thorntons.