A co-operative enterprise, the IDB is owned by Irish dairy processing co-operatives and dairy companies and, through them, by Irish Dairy farmers.
The Shropshire-based Cheese Warehouse supplies cheese in a range of formats to the UK’s food manufacturing, retail, foodservice, wholesale and hospitality sectors.
The UK’s food ingredients and food service sectors are a key market for Irish dairy exports.
Strong UK base
Commenting on the acquisition, Kevin Lane, ceo of IDB, said: “The Cheese Warehouse complements our existing cheese ingredients business located close by in the UK and will significantly increase our presence in the UK cheese ingredients and foodservice sectors.”
The IDB reported a turnover of €1.9bn for the year ended December 31 2010. It exports Irish dairy products to over 80 countries around the globe, making it Ireland’s largest exporter of dairy products.
“This transaction presents exciting opportunities to grow our business in the UK in collaboration with both existing and new customers across new products, technologies and processes,” said Lane.
“We view in-market collaboration as a key growth driver for Irish dairy products as milk volumes expand ahead of the abolition of milk quotas in 2015.”
The amount paid for the acquisition was not disclosed.