Dennett Outdoor adds Sharpe’s of Aberdeen to business

Northern Ireland wholesaler Dennett Outdoor has taken over the 100-year-old game fishing business, Sharpe’s of Aberdeen.

In an announcement this month, MAG NI Holdings Ltd , Dennett’s owner, says it has acquired the assets of Clan Nets Ltd, which trades as Sharpe’s.

Sharpe’s will join Dennett Outdoor as part of the MAG NI Holdings portfolio.  Both companies continuing to be run as separate entities, with Dennett Outdoor the exclusive distributor of Sharpe’s products in the UK and Ireland.

The business will be relocated to Dennett’s base in Strabane, Co. Tyrone, where the manufacturing of Sharpe’s products will continue, and Dennett directors Mark and Aaron Gamble become directors of Sharpe’s.

The Gamble cousins had a good relationship with Sharpe’s previous owner Stuart Wright and had discussed the possible purchase of the company before Wright’s death in December 2020.

The future of the brand became uncertain until the deal was finalised with Stuart’s wife Ruth. “I would like to thank Ruth for her cooperation and assistance during the difficult past year or two,” said Mark Gamble (pictured above). “ I hope that the business moving on to new hands will now allow her to focus on what is the next chapter of her life.”

Aaron Gamble said Dennett planned to increase manufacturing capacity to fulfil existing and future demand for Sharpe’s products. “We are excited by the prospect of building the Sharpe’s brand back to where it belongs, while simultaneously developing new game fishing products for the future.”

Ruth Wright issued a statement saying: “Finally, and no doubt after much speculation, I am delighted to announce we are handing over the reins of Sharpe’s into the capable hands of Mark and Aaron Gamble.

“I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to our stalwarts, Don and Jenny, who kept my company running, not only during Stuart’s illness, but since his passing. Without them there would have been no Sharpe’s to hand over.

“I would also extend thanks to our loyal customer base, which I hope will continue to support Dennett Outdoor during the transition, and to wish the Gamble family continued success and hopefully the development of Sharpe’s products in the future.”

Sharpe’s of Aberdeen was founded in 1920 by J.S. Sharpe, who as a young man had worked for Hardy brothers in Alnwick, Northumberland. By 1938 the company’s rods and reels, produced in its famous Belmont Street factory, were known throughout the world