Northern Foods, the UK-based dairy and prepared foods company, is to demerge its dairy operation next month. The new, standalone company will operate under the name Express Dairies plc, with shareholders receiving one share in the new company for every two they hold in Northern Foods.
The company says the split will enable Express to develop new strat-egies following a rationalisation and restructuring programme, which has taken place over the last three years. But the key factor driving the move is undoubtedly a question of City valuation.
In a full statement, the company said: