UK-based West Lakes Dairy Park is to sell the entire share capital of the company to Meadow Foods, after aborting plans to build a new cheese factory in Carlisle, Cumbria.

Meadow Foods will secure the future of WLDP’s milk purchase agreements with hundreds of Cumbrian farmers as part of the deal. WLDP has cited the tightening of the debt markets as the main reason for cancelling the project.
Paul Deakin, managing director of Meadow Foods, says: “When it became clear to the shareholders of WLDP that their cheese factory project was no longer viable,
they approached us to secure the future of the contracts they have put in place with their Cumbrian dairy farm suppliers. As a long-term, growing and financially stable dairy ingredients business, Meadow Foods is in a strong position to ensure that the contracts are honoured and farmers continue to get an attractive return for their milk.
Meadow Foods has confirmed that it intends to maintain WLDP’s milk price and new payment terms in the current milk year.”