Fishgate facility on market

HULL fish grading and auction facility Fishgate has gone on the market following its liquidation.

The Fishgate Hull Fish Auction was built with £5m of public and private investment in 2000.

The facility allows fish, brought from the northern seas off Iceland, Faroe and Norway to be weighed, graded and packed, then sold to buyers or wholesalers.

International asset consultants Charterfields has been appointed to sell the facility, which was forced to close in June, due to the withdrawal of Icelandic fish supplies.

The 56,000 sq ft temperature-controlled premises includes processing plant and electronic auction room.

Facets of the market included fish being computer tracked from reception to dispatch to ensure traceability.

Liquidator John Russell, from The P&A Partnership, said: “The company was not only a casualty of the financial crisis in Iceland but also the reduced haddock quota.”

Charterfields has been appointed to sell the processing assets and business, in partnership with property agents GVA.

Charterfields director Roger Cutting said: “We will be exploring all avenues in our attempt to find a buyer and will be looking not only within the UK but also in Europe, Iceland and Norway.

“Ideally we would like a buyer that could continue to operate the business – if not the auction side, then at least the processing plant. However we are considering all options.”

Charterfields services clients worldwide from its offices in Sheffield, Manchester and London.