Milk Link Acquires Cornish Country Larder Cheese Business

The acquisition of CCL by Milk Link is a positive development for the Cornish based cheese business which, since its creation in 1996, has played a leading role in the strong growth of the British soft cheese market.

1/26/2011 --- Milk Link has announced the acquisition of the award-winning Cornish Country Larder cheese business (CCL) 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 great tasting 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 Cornish 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.
 
The Trevarrian Creamery, located on the stunning North Cornwall coast between Padstow and Newquay, produces a superb range of Cornish Brie, Camembert and brands such as Gevrik soft goats cheese and St Endellion (a delicious luxury Cornish Brie handmade using Cornish double cream): the deal announced will enable their increased nationwide distribution.
 
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.
 
Commenting on the announcement, Neil Kennedy, Milk Link’s Chief Executive said: “Our acquisition of Cornish Country Larder further strengthens our position as a leading producer of high quality British cheeses and is an important addition to our growing speciality cheese offer.  It will enable us to offer our customers great tasting, award-winning Cornish soft cheeses and will provide a strong platform to further enhance the reputation and sales of Cornish dairy products.
 
“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.  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.”