Major extension planned for prominent Omagh business

PLANS have been submitted for a major extension to one of Omagh’s best known businesses.

The Foyle Food Group wants to significantly increase the size of its facility at Doogary Road.

The company says the proposed extension would provide more chill storage for its products, along with new dispatch bays and a workshop/plant room.

If given the green light, the plans would also see a reconfiguration of parking at the Omagh facility. The existing lorry parking area would be relocated to a different part of the site, and a new entrance would be created for the staff car park.

The company, one of the biggest meat processors in Ireland and the UK, submitted the plans to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council last week.

The final decision on the proposed extension will now rest with the council’s planning committee.

The family-owned Foyle Food Group was set up in 1977 and its first facility was at Campsie near Derry.

The Omagh plant opened in 1997 and the company now has eight facilities, five in the North, one in the Republic and two in England.

The company says it slaughters 7,000 cattle each week across its processing plants.

Its latest accounts show the Foyle Foyle Group employs almost 1,100 people across all its facilities, although the exact number of employees at the Omagh base has not been made public.

The accounts, which cover the year ending 2023, show the company had a turnover that year of just over £500m – an increase of £8m on the previous year.

After all costs were factored in, the Foyle Food Group made a profit of £11.7m in 2023.

The company also indicated in its account statement it was looking to continue the development of its bases in Omagh and elsewhere.

“The company intends to continue its commitment to capital investment to provide high quality products and services to its customers,” the statement said.

“There are many challenges facing the agricultural markets at present, however the company believes it is well positioned to meet these challenges and indeed maximize any opportunities within changing marketplace.”