Fish farm secures halibut funds

Otter Ferry Seafish, a hatchery in Argyll, set up the Gigha Halibut business on a defunct salmon farm two years ago, as its biggest customer moved operations to Norway. According to the Scotsman, Gigha Halibut then obtained £1m from private investors and Bank of Scotland, in order to put out 140,000 young fish. These are expected to sell for £2m this autumn, which investors a healthy return. DC Consulting, the Dundee corporate finance boutique which arranged the deal, is now looking to raise £800,000, split between debt and equity, for a second Gigha Halibut fund, the Scotsman wrote. The company has seemingly secured contracts with several restaurants and is in talks with Marks & Spencer, which obtains most of its halibut from the wild. Alastair Barge, Gigha's managing director, told the Scotsman: "You have declining fisheries, but more and more fish is on the slab. Fish farming is moving up the agenda."