Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

£13m deal will secure supply for Highland Game firm

with Christian Nissen,  managing director of Highland Game,  Rural Affairs Minister, Mairi Gougeon and Simon Hodgson, chief executive Highland Game. Picture: Dougie Nicolson.
with Christian Nissen, managing director of Highland Game, Rural Affairs Minister, Mairi Gougeon and Simon Hodgson, chief executive Highland Game. Picture: Dougie Nicolson.

A multi million pound deal will secure the supply of venison to a leading Tayside food company, securing jobs and promoting product development.

The five-year, £13 million contract between Dundee based Highland Game and Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) underlines Scotland’s role as the leading producer of venison in the UK – contributing around 3,500 tonnes of wild venison and 70 tonnes of farmed venison each year.

Managing director of Highland Games, Christian Nissen said the deal gave confidence of supply of venison for the firm, while securing existing jobs and allowing growth for the firm.

He said: “This contract puts us in a strong position, giving us certainty of availability and safeguarding what we have, and allowing us to grow.

“We are focussed on offering healthy alternatives and venison is probably the best meat in the world.”

Mr Nissen said much of the venison would be used in the domestic market, where it was no longer seen as a niche delicacy.

He said: “Venison is a highly nutritious, versatile and affordable meat that is no longer a niche delicacy, but is a year-long staple found across the country in restaurants, supermarkets and in home kitchens.”

“Our working relationship with FLS is moving from strength to strength, which is good news for us and good news for Scotland.

“It is has also allowed Highland Game to stay focussed delivering quality of service to our customers and to our ongoing investment in the business and its people.”

Around two thirds of the venison produced in Scotland enters the £100m UK game market, with the remaining third exported to countries across mainland Europe and the increasing USA market.

The contract will see FLS bring 39,000 deer to market as part of its proactive deer management programme to prevent overpopulation.

Highland Game, which now employs more than 100 staff, supplies a number of leading supermarkets and catering distributors.

Simon Hodgson, chief executive of fls said the income from the contract would be reinvested in the work of FLS.

The contract was unveiled during a visit to the firm’s Dryburgh Estate facility by minister for rural affairs and agriculture, Mairi Gougeon MSP.

She said: “Venison is a great Scottish product and this will make a significant contribution to our quality food and drink sector and brings added value to the rural economy.

jimillar@thecourier.co.uk