Dairy Crest to buy East of England Co-op
Published 9 January 08

It has been announced that Dairy Crest is in discussions to buy the distribution business of East of England Co-op. East of England Co-op handles approximately 60m litres of milk; some of which is bought directly from farmers. Under the proposed agreement, milk producers supplying the Co-op will have their milk taken on by Dairy Crest.

In a press statement, East of England Co-op said that a review of the business concluded that significant expenditure was required to upgrade the existing dairy. With uncertainty over milk supply and price volatility, it was felt that operations were not viable in the long term. The deal will include the closure of the Co-op's Ipswich dairy with the loss of approximately 60 jobs. All other staff will be transferred to Dairy Crest who will continue current distribution operations at the three depots in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.