Seaweed start-up buys out Mara’s assets

The assets of Mara Seaweed have been bought out of administration by a new company, Seaweed Enterprises, which has ambitious plans for growth.

Mara Seaweed, based in Fife in Scotland’s east coast, was placed in the hands of administrators FRP Advisory in June this year. Seven jobs have now been saved as a result of the Seaweed Enterprises deal.

Seaweed Enterprises Limited has also announced that it will be developing a primary processing facility, scaling up its factory and operations with market-leading technology in order to become the UK’s leading harvesting and processing hub for seaweed.

The company said: “The Scottish seaweed industry is still an under-invested, untapped, and highly fragmented sector. Seaweed is a potent and abundant ocean resource packed full of nutritional, cosmetic and pharmaceutical benefits, as well as being an agricultural asset as both a fertiliser and foodstuff.”

Seaweed Enterprises has been established by experienced CEO Pete Higgins, along with the senior team from Mara Seaweed – Arnie Sathiy and Clare Dean – who have several years’ practical and commercial experience in the seaweed industry.

The company said it has already successfully secured private investment to roll out its business plan, which aims to see it grow to become the leading seaweed processing hub.

Significant capital expenditure at Seaweed Enterprises’ Glenrothes site is key to its investment strategy, allowing the production and sale of a range of species in demand from a vast array of offtake channels, already looking to seaweed for sustainable solutions.

The firm’s goal is to broaden its revenue base across a range of commercial opportunities, from the food industry to skincare and agri-business (fertilisers/feedstock), positioning Seaweed Enterprises as a centrally located solution to the continued bottlenecks seen across the seaweed industry as it matures.

Seaweed Enterprises CEO Pete Higgins said: “Seaweed is an extraordinarily beneficial natural resource whose potential is not yet fully realised, so this is a tremendously exciting time for Seaweed Enterprises and the sustainable seaweed sector as a whole.”

“Working in partnership with Scottish seaweed farmers, as well as the large volume from our licence to wild harvest granted by the Crown Estate, we are proud to be developing innovative products to the highest standard. Our state-of-the-art facility will offer not only volume much needed by many customers, but importantly the versatility and refinement for higher value items.”

Pete Higgins, CEO of Seaweed Enterprises