Dairy Crest dairy asset sale to Muller on track

It also said competition watchdog, the Competition and Markets Authority, had indicated in August that it Muller’s would not create any competition concerns.

The company also issued an interim statement projecting increased profits and an increased earnings for shareholders for 2015, despite a difficult marketplace.

Mark Allen, Dairy Crest CEO, said: “The first half of the year has played out largely as we expected. Cathedral City continues to go from strength to strength and has grown sales and market share.

"The strong performance of Cathedral City and of Frylight is particularly encouraging in markets that remain challenging. Our cost base remains firmly under control.

“Lower cheese costs and an expected improved performance from our spreads and butters business in the second half mean our full year expectations remain unchanged.

"Our investment to manufacture demineralised whey powder and GOS is almost complete; we look forward to accessing new sales channels in fast growing global markets in the second half of the year.”