The Yorkshire firm, which was set up as a pig-feed seller by a group of farmers in the early 1970s, said it would sell the division to BOCM Pauls, one of the UK's biggest animal-feed suppliers, for an undisclosed sum.

Last year Cranswick's compounding division produced only a small profit. The cash inflow resulting from the sale and the reduction in working capital requirements will be around £7m.

"The trading environment for this business has been particularly challenging in recent years following the substantial reduction in the United Kingdom pig herd," said executive chairman Martin Davey.

The Cranswick business as a whole continues to delight investors. It’s pretax profits have increased 12 percent to £32.4m on sales up 19 percent to £525m.