Milk Link Chief Eyes Expansion

BROMSGROVE, England, June 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

The chief executive of Milk Link says the UK dairy co-operative wants to be a "bigger, broader version" of the company it is now, with potential for acquisitions in the medium term.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with just-food.com following its full-year results, Milk Link CEO Neil Kennedy discusses the company's performance and its plans over the next year and beyond.

Earlier this month (8 June), Milk Link published its full-year financial results and, talking to just-food, Kennedy  outlined to just-food.com the company's medium-term ambitions - and much of the vision was to build on the group's current strategy.

"We think being represented directly or indirectly across the spectrum of dairy products is important so we don't see ourselves changing in that respect. We'd like to get bigger across the sectors. We are a scale business but we're up against some much bigger competitors," Kennedy says

Milk Link added to its cheese portfolio in January, with the acquisition of Country Cheese Larder, a maker of soft cheeses. At the time of the acquisition, Kennedy said Milk Link wanted to become "the leading British value-added dairy processing business". Expanding on this vision, he now reveals that Milk Link has a "full programme" of expansion for the year ahead, with "big investments going in" but he hints that, perhaps, this year, the focus would be on organic growth.

"Our refinancing last autumn does put us in a position where we've got access agreed financial support to make further acquisitions," Kennedy says. "I wouldn't rule out us doing other similar or even slightly larger scale acquisitions over the medium term but, as far as this year is concerned, I think we've got a pretty full agenda."

Read the full interview here: http://www.just-food.com/interview/the-just-food-interview-neil-kennedy-milk-link_id115590.aspx  

The interview is available for full members of just-food.com only. To gain access to this interview along with beverage industry information, insight and intelligence visit: http://www.just-food.com/membership.aspx  

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SOURCE just-food.com