Seafood businesses across Ireland are being encouraged to strengthen their competitiveness and prepare for future challenges through BIM’s Seafood Business Advisory Programme. The programme provides tailored support to improve profitability and long-term sustainability, with an estimated 85% of Irish seafood businesses being family-owned.
A panel of experienced business advisers works directly with participating companies to identify areas for improvement and help implement practical solutions. Support is available across three main areas: financial performance, succession planning, and mergers and acquisitions.
Goatsbridge Trout Farm: Financial Modelling for Future Growth
Kilkenny-based Goatsbridge Trout Farm has used BIM’s Seafood Business Advisory Programme to develop a comprehensive financial model to support its continued growth and investment.
The family business, run by Ger and Mags Kirwan, has expanded from traditional trout farming into value-added products including fresh and smoked trout, pâté, fish chowder and trout caviar, while also developing overseas markets.
Growth Model: Ger and Mags Kirwan of Goatsbridge Trout Farm in Kilkenny, where BIM’s advisory programme has helped the family business develop financial modelling to support investment and future growth
Working with specialist financial advisers through the programme, Goatsbridge mapped its costs, sales and overheads to clarify where profits are generated and how cost changes or new investments could affect the wider business.
Mags Kirwan described the process as a “game changer”, with the resulting financial model now used as a practical tool for business decisions and future planning.
McBride Fishing: Planning for the Next Generation
In Donegal, McBride Fishing has used the programme to help plan the transition from a second-generation to a third-generation family seafood business.
Based in Downings, the company operates three modern fishing vessels and produces around 2,000 tonnes of premium brown crab and European blue lobster annually, supplying customers across Europe and Asia.
Next Generation: Luke McBride with his father Hugh at McBride Fishing in Donegal, where succession planning through BIM’s advisory programme is helping prepare the family business for its third generation
Brothers Hugh and Peter McBride began working through the BIM programme on a succession plan designed to build the next generation's experience and responsibilities while leaving the business financially robust.
The process has addressed leadership roles, family and shareholder arrangements, governance, taxation and financial independence for the retiring generation. The family said starting early had given it time to explore options and develop a plan to keep the business “resilient, innovative and competitive well into the future”.
Building More Resilient Seafood Businesses
BIM chief executive Richard Donnelly said Ireland’s seafood industry was operating in an increasingly challenging environment, with businesses facing rising costs and changing markets.
“The Seafood Business Advisory Programme is designed to give seafood companies access to experienced financial advisers who understand the realities of the sector and can provide practical, tailored support that delivers measurable improvements,” he said. “Whether the priority is improving profitability, planning for the next generation of leadership, or mergers, the programme gives businesses an opportunity to step back, identify opportunities and build stronger, more resilient operations for the future.”
Donnelly said succession planning was particularly important for the sector.
“Most Irish seafood businesses are family-owned, with two or sometimes even three generations working together. Planning on handing over to a new generation is vital,” he said.
Seafood businesses interested in accessing the programme can contact Gavin McGrath, Commercial Operations Executive at BIM, at [email protected] to discuss the opportunities or challenges they would like to address.
