EPHRAIM Belcher, the undisputed sausage king of Scotland and one of the UK's richest men, has seen off a board member after a drastic dip in profits and has retaken control of the business empire he founded almost 40 years ago.
Belcher, 63, has also watched as his personal fortune dwindled and his ranking on the Sunday Times richlist of Scotland's wealthiest individuals slipped to 98th position from 70th the previous year.
His fortune is now estimated at GBP35m, according to the richlist, down from an estimated GBP48m.
Meanwhile, pre-tax profits at his Prestwick-based Belcher Food Products plunged to GBP801,899 for the year to the end of February, compared with a chunky GBP3m the previous year, according to accounts obtained by The Herald from Companies House.
However, sales climbed to GBP27.2m for the year, compared with GBP24.5m last time.
Low-profile Belcher started out as a family butcher in the late 1960s with a shop in Tam's Brig in Ayr, before expanding into pork processing. His company is now the UK's largest producer of frozen sausages for the major supermarket chains, turning out 20,000 tonnes a year.
A statement in the directors' report of Belcher's accounts notes: "The company suffered a downturn in its trading performance in the year. Management changes have been made and Mr E Belcher has resumed day-to-day control of the business."
The report adds: "The directors are confident that tighter cost control, coupled with closer management involvement can, in time, restore the company's profitability to previous levels."
Asked by The Herald if the profits decline was related to the departure of Neil Pearson, the company's former sales and marketing director in March and Belcher's only boardroom colleague, finance manager Willie Deans declined to comment.
"I'm afraid we have nothing to say beyond what is on page two of our latest accounts. That says it all, " said Deans.
Page two of the accounts notes that "Mr N Pearson resigned as director on March 31, 2006" and that William Pettigrew replaced him on the board.
The accounts, signed off by Belcher on October 26, also note that Belcher was now the sole shareholder on the board, and revealed that, on March 16, 2005, the company purchased 20,000 ordinary shares, representing 40-per cent of the issued share capital, for GBP6m.
"The shares were repurchased in order to remove external shareholders, " the company added, but it is unclear how this cash has been distributed - whether to family members or to Belcher himself, or whether it was related to Pearson's departure. Deans declined to comment.
Three years ago, the company spent GBP14m on a new production plant which supplies cooked burgers and sausages to supermarket and restaurant chains.
The decline in profits would have been even more marked if the owner had not been sharply reducing the amount he takes out of the company in salary.
While Belcher shared in total directors' pay of GBP174,234 in 2006, up from GBP137,000 previously - it remains considerably lower than GBP1.2m the two board members took in 2004.
After shares buy-back, Belcher Food Products ended the financial year with GBP5.6m in cash, compared with GBP9.3m last time.
Belcher prides himself on investing profits rather than relying on large borrowing to fund his expansion.
He has been quoted as saying: "I have always treated it as a hobby. A business is for life. It is not about making a fast buck.
"You have to believe in your gut instinct and never blame anyone else when things go wrong."
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