The UK beef industry has over recent years seen a decline in the quantity and quality of heifers available as replacements to the suckler herd. Historically the dairy industry supplied the beef suckler herd with surplus dairy cross beef heifers. However, with the Holstenisation of the UK dairy herd and a reduction in size of the national dairy herd beef farmers are looking towards alternative replacement strategies. Many breeds of cattle are available for use in UK beef production and many different combinations of breeds can be used in crossbreeding scenarios. Tools have been developed recently to identify the best individuals from the most appropriate breeds to be used in the optimum breeding strategy. To identify appropriate breeds for specific production functions required quantification of performance traits for the breeds of cattle used commercially. At an enterprise level a deterministic bioeconomic model BREEDS (Beef Replacement Enterprise Evaluation Decisions Support) was developed (Roughsedge et al., 2003) to evaluate changes in breeds and breeding systems. The model simulates all aspects of beef production including the transition of the breed composition, over generations, as well as biological and economic performance of animals within the herd, over time. Breed performance parameters used in BREEDS were derived by combining results of a meta-analysis of published breed comparison experiments (Roughsedge et al., 2001) with performance data collected on cattle in Britain by MLC Signet, including aspects of maternal performance. Once appropriate breeds are identified breeding values will help to identify the best individuals to use. This study outlines the traits considered for maternal estimated breeding values (EBVs) to allow breeders to improve maternal aspects of breed performance and commercial producers to select bulls appropriate to their replacement breeding needs.