Carlisle based, H&H Group Plc, have announced the appointment of Will Hamilton, of Bee Edge Farm, Coldingham in the Scottish Borders, as a Non- Executive Company Director. H&H Group is a holding company for the UK’s largest livestock trading company, Harrison & Hetherington, who operate nine auction marts including Newtown St Boswells and Wooler.
Will Hamilton farms, with his wife Carol and father as W B Hamilton & Sons. Together they farm 2,000 acres based at Bee Edge Farm. He is the third generation of Hamilton’s to use the St Boswell’s Auction Mart, which he first attended as a young child. Will has been using the mart to sell cattle since the early 1980’s and he also sold finished and ewe lambs through both Wooler and Newtown St Boswells marts when he had a breeding sheep enterprise.
Demonstrating his commitment to the mart system, Will finishes 350 head of store cattle which he purchases at a number of Harrison and Hetherington’s auction marts, including at Carlisle and Wooler. He aims to sell most of these cattle at St Boswells, weekly throughout the year, to supply local butchers.
A highly respected farmer and businessman Will is also currently UK Chairman of the ‘AHDB Wheat Recommended List Committee’ and in taking his place on the Board as Non-Executive Director with H&H Group Plc, he said: “H&H Group are a very well-respected organisation and I am honoured to be invited to join the Board. I am understandably excited about the proposed investment and development in the Livestock Auction Mart facilities at Newtown St Boswells as this demonstrates Harrison and Hetherington’s commitment to livestock farmers in the Borders for the future.
“I intend to support our livestock trading teams, to make more farmers aware of the extensive range of services which we offer, and to ensure that Wooler and St Boswells continue to be vibrant livestock trading centres.”
The H&H Group operates as a holding company with its seven successful operating companies encompassing Livestock, Machinery and Auctioneers, Brokers and Valuers, Estate Agents, Auction Rooms, Commercial Printers in addition to Chartered Surveyors and Insurance Brokers. Founded originally as farmstock auctioneers and today with nine Harrison & Hetherington Auction Marts, auctioneering is still very much a part of their business.
H&H Land and Property offers expertise in every aspect of rural property from its offices in Carlisle, Newtown St Boswells, Thornhill, Kendal and Durham, working with farmers, landowners and commercial leisure and residential interests. H&H Insurance Brokers have offices in Carlisle, Durham and Ruthin offering expertise and a diverse and comprehensive portfolio of insurance products tailored to individual needs, from equine to livestock, arable to commercial.
Speaking after the announcement of this appointment to the H&H Group Board, Michael Scott, Chairman of the H&H Group Plc, said:
“Looking ahead, these are exciting times for the Group and in his role as a director, I know that Will will be integral to the continued growth and structured development of both Newtown St Boswell’s and Wooler Auction Marts. Building on their reputation and supporting the existing team, he will help realise the company’s continued growth, and his own ambition of seeing a new market facility developed at Newtown St Boswells.”
“I know that all of our businesses will benefit from Will’s extensive knowledge and understanding of the farming industry during these changing times and on behalf of the Group, I am delighted to welcome him to the Board.”
Will describes himself as a stockman through and through, cattle are his passion as well as his profession, and believes very strongly that for those buying and selling livestock, marts perform a key role:
“They give fair value and represent a transparent method of trading. They have a future both from a livestock trading perspective and also very importantly; from a social aspect, especially in these days of fewer people working on the farms.
“Personally, I still get a real buzz when I am having a good day buying or selling stock at the market, however, the next generation, our younger farmers, are going to want to market their livestock instantly, utilising apps and social platforms. Therefore, our systems of buying and selling will have to incorporate these new methods of trading, some of which I am pleased to say Harrison & Hetherington have already embraced.”
