News

Dairy Crest is to sell its dairy operations to Müller UK & Ireland Group in an £80 million deal to enable the company to focus on its cheeses and spreads operations.

Müller’s acquisition will comprise the fresh liquid milk, flavoured milk including the FRijj brand, bulk and potted cream, bulk butter and milk powder businesses of Dairy Crest.

The brand will also acquire Dairy Crest’s dairy facilities at Severnside, Chadwell Heath, Foston and Hanworth together with around 70 depots.

Heiner Kamps, chief executive officer of Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller, said: “This acquisition underlines our ambition to further grow the Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller in its core markets and it extends our position as an increasingly important competitor in the dairy sector.

“In tandem with this growth we are placing significant emphasis on becoming an employer of choice at what is an exciting time in our further development as an international fresh food company.”

Müller hopes that combining Müller Wiseman Dairies and Dairy Crest’s dairies operations will benefit customers, consumers, employers and suppliers of both businesses greater opportunity and security.

It also believes the combined business will provide a platform for higher investment in production efficiencies, potentially leading to higher levels of innovations, product development and British exports of dairy products.

Ronald Kers, chief executive of Müller UK & Ireland Group, said: “We are concerned that the dynamics of the UK fresh milk market are unsustainable for dairy processors in the mid to long term and this acquisition will allow us to reduce our costs, increase our efficiencies and invest in the future.”

Meanwhile, Dairy Crest also revealed revenues over the last six months rose 1% to £682.1 million. Overall dairy operations saw a loss in the six month period ending September 30th 2014, however flavoured milk brand FRijj, part of the Müller acquisition, saw a 27% sales growth.