Müller to acquire West Lancashire-based Yew Tree Dairy

Müller on Wednesday announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Yew Tree Dairy, based in in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire.

The family-owned dairy company producing fresh milk and cream now also specialises in milk powder production, following significant investment in recent years.

Müller said it will use Yew Tree Dairy’s production capabilities for milk powder to grow its export business and drive supply chain resilience.

Following the completion of the acquisition, Müller plans to significantly invest in the capacity and capabilities of the Skelmersdale milk drying site. Tapping into internal expertise and experience from across the Müller group, the business will look to enhance its milk drying capability, enabling it to become a major producer and exporter of powdered milk products made in Britain, with milk from British dairy farms.

“This significant investment in the British dairy industry underlines our ambition to grow Müller and build a better future for the sector,” commented Rob Hutchison, chief executive at Müller Milk & Ingredients.

“Yew Tree Dairy has excellent processing capabilities, a talented team with great expertise, and strong relationships with its customers and supplying farms. When combined with our well-invested and resilient network, I am very confident that these two family-owned businesses will complement each other really well.”

Carl Woodcock from Yew Tree Dairy said: “We as a family are very proud of the dairy business we have built and are looking forward to seeing the progression and development by Müller of the Skelmersdale operation. The family felt the time was right to explore new opportunities whilst retaining our farming roots.

“We would like to thank all who have been involved in the Yew Tree Dairy business over the years. Our success is in no small part due to our dedicated staff, farmers and customers that have been part of our journey.

“We have known Rob and the team from Müller for many years. After meeting with the Müller family, we feel confident that this is the right decision for the business to be part of a larger organisation for the next phase of growth that will benefit our staff, farmers, and customers in the longer term.

“The key for us was to find a buyer that not only shared our values but had an exciting vision for the future of the great British dairy industry. Following a competitive process, Müller was our clear preference, and we leave our business in really good hands.”

Completion of the deal is expected later this year subject to approval from the Competition and Markets Authority.