FDBusiness.com

UK dairy co-operative Milk Link has acquired the Cornish Country Larder cheese business for an undisclosed sum in a deal that strengthens its position as a leading producer of British cheese. The acquisition means that, in addition to producing a comprehensive range of Cheddars, hard and crumbly territorials and Stilton, Milk Link will now be able to offer its major retail and food service customers a selection of soft cheeses.

The acquisition of CCL by Milk Link is a positive development for the Cornwall-based cheese business which, since its creation in 1996, has played a leading role in the strong growth of the British soft cheese market. The deal is the natural evolution of the successful strategic partnership established between Milk Link and CCL over the last 18 months. It provides the basis for the next stage in the growth and development of CCL’s award-winning Trevarrian Creamery which will benefit from new investment to further enhance its processing capacity, product quality and service levels.

Neil Kennedy, chief executive of Milk Link.

The creamery already uses milk supplied by Milk Link’s Cornish dairy farmer members and the acquisition is a further step forward in the co-operative’s strategy of maximising the value of its members’ milk by processing it into value added products and returning the profits generated to them as soon as possible.

“The acquisition is a further positive development for Milk Link whose dairy farmer membership heartland is in the South West and is in line with our strategy of building Milk Link into the leading British value added dairy processing business,” says Neil Kennedy, chief executive of Milk Link. “The deal provides an opportunity for us to grow and develop an already successful business by leveraging our wider, national customer base and proven know how in sales and marketing, operations and logistics and new product and packaging development.”

Late last year, Milk Link entered into a strategic partnership with another dairy business, Volac, to jointly undertake a major investment at Milk Link’s Taw Valley Creamery in Devon. The investment will see the replacement of the existing whey dryer at Taw Valley to create a state-of-the-art, added value whey processing operation on one site. The new facility will be the most advanced of its type in the UK and amongst other benefits will deliver enhanced levels of energy efficiency and reduced environmental emissions.