French media reports indicate that Liffey Meats has signed an agreement in the past few days to take a controlling stake in Chiron Viandes, a family-owned beef processing company based near Caen in north-western France.

According to the Normandy Chamber of Agriculture, Chiron was founded in 1987, employs 86 staff and processes 9,000 tonnes of beef annually, specialising in frozen burgers. It services the retail and food service markets and some 20% of its production is exported.

Accounts filed by the company for 2014 show that it had a turnover of €28.5m (down 15.7% on 2013) and posted a profit of €2.1m (up 71% on 2013).