H&H Group of Carlisle has today completed a takeover of Scottish rival John Swan & Sons to create the UK’s largest livestock marts business.

It says that John Swan’s marts, at Newtown St Boswells in the Borders and Wooler in Northumberland, complement the seven operated by its Harrison & Hetherington subsidiary including the Borderway Mart in Carlisle.

The deal has taken 10 months to complete since H&H tabled an £8.2m offer for Aim-listed John Swan last December.

Brian Richardson, chief executive of H&H Group, said: “This acquisition gives livestock farmers and the wider agricultural community greater opportunities to market their animals and produce.

“Harrison & Hetherington and John Swan are known for their close relationships with farmers, and we’re now seeking to further develop the service to our customers. In the short-term, our aim is to make the amalgamation of the two businesses as seamless as possible, retaining and focusing on the farmers and looking at how we can develop market share which is all about delivering our customers’ needs.”

H&H plans to expand its land agency and insurance businesses to cater for John Swan customers in Northumberland and the Borders.

The announcement comes as H&H Group reported pre-tax profits of £1.16m for the year to June, down from £1.3m in 2013-14.

Turnover also fell, from £14.4m to £13.5m, although this was in part due to the sale of its vehicle finance business to the Cumberland Building Society in 2014.

Mr Richardson said: “This is a solid result and shows the strength of the business in a year that has been more challenging, with lower stock and produce prices for much of our customer base.

“Harrison and Hetherington have performed very strongly and we have seen improvements in market share and numbers marketed through the business.

“Our land agency continues to develop and grow.

“Our estate agency had a slow start but activity has been much higher in 2015, with the number of houses sold increasing dramatically, although we continue to see little if any inflation in the Cumbrian housing market.”

He added: “H&H Insurance Brokers continued to develop market share and the print business, H&H Reeds Printers, has continued to focus on cost efficiency.

“Further investment in equipment will provide greater capacity in the coming year.”