Dairy Crest to remain ‘passionately British’ despite sale, CEO Mark Allen insists
Dairy Crest will remain a “passionately British food company”, CEO Mark Allen has insisted, despite its acquisition by Canadian dairy giant Saputo in a near-£1bn deal.
Chairman and CEO Lino Saputo said the deal would allow Dairy Crest to “accelerate its long-term growth and business development potential”, while also “providing benefits to Dairy Crest’s employees and stakeholders”.
And despite its new overseas ownership, Allen stressed the business was “still British”. The deal would give Dairy Crest the “ability to inject further pace” and attack new export markets for its brands and dairy ingredients business, he added.
“We’ve got British farmers and British milk in the west country which we are fiercely proud of. And we will still make British brands,” he told The Grocer. “That is absolutely not going to change.”
Given the ongoing Brexit uncertainty surrounding the UK economy, Allen also stressed the deal was not dependent on any specific outcome. It would be “business as usual” at Dairy Crest’s Surrey headquarters, its five manufacturing sites and its innovation centre on the Harper Adams University campus, he said.
