Clearwater advises the shareholders of Yew Tree Dairy on its sale to Müller
We have advised the shareholders of Yew Tree Dairy Holdings Ltd (Yew Tree Dairy), a family-owned dairy and milk processor in the UK, on its sale to Müller, a major player in dairy products for the UK market. The completion of the transaction is subject to Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) approval.
Based in Skelmersdale, West Lancashire, Yew Tree Dairy is a family-owned dairy company producing fresh milk and cream. Following significant investment in recent years, the business now also specialises in milk powder production.
Owned by Unternehmensgruppe Theo Müller, Müller employs over 32,000 people throughout Europe. In the UK, the company develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of branded and private-label dairy products made with milk from 1,300 farmers in Britain, alongside a designated plant-based range.
With this transaction, Müller will utilise Yew Tree Dairy’s production capabilities for milk powder to grow its export business, drive supply chain resilience and secure a positive future for the British dairy industry.
Müller plans to significantly invest in the capacity and capabilities of Yew Tree Dairy’s milk drying site. Tapping into internal expertise and experience from across the Müller group, the business will enhance its milk drying capability, enabling it to become a major producer and exporter of powdered milk products made in Britain, with milk from British dairy farms.
This transaction will benefit customers, consumers, suppliers, and employees of both businesses while offering to supply farmers with enhanced opportunities and long-term security.
This significant investment in the British dairy industry underlines our ambition to grow Müller and build a better future for the sector.
Yew Tree Dairy has excellent processing capabilities, a talented team with great expertise, and strong relationships with its customers and supplying farms. When combined with our well-invested and resilient network, I am very confident that these two family-owned businesses will complement each other really well.
Britain is a great place for dairy farming and has an excellent reputation for quality, welfare standards, and sustainability. This acquisition will enable us to tap into global dairy consumption growth, unlock additional export opportunities and continue to drive supply chain resilience.
We as a family are very proud of the dairy business we have built and are looking forward to seeing the progression and development by Müller of the Skelmersdale operation. The family felt the time was right to explore new opportunities whilst retaining our farming roots.
We would like to thank all who have been involved in the Yew Tree Dairy business over the years. Our success is in no small part due to our dedicated staff, farmers and customers who have been part of our journey.
We have known Rob and the team from Müller for many years. After meeting with the Müller family, we feel confident that this is the right decision for the business to be part of a larger organisation for the next phase of growth that will benefit our staff, farmers, and customers in the longer term.
The key for us was to find a buyer who not only shared our values but had an exciting vision for the future of the great British dairy industry. Following a competitive process, Müller was our clear preference, and we leave our business in really good hands.
Throughout the process of selling our family business, Clearwater has been with us from start to finish offering us invaluable advice and support. They delivered an exceptional service and ran a well-thought through process.
It has been a pleasure to advise the shareholders of Yew Tree Dairy on this transaction to find the right buyer who is committed to the British dairy industry. Yew Tree Dairy has built an outstanding business with excellent processing capabilities, great expertise, and strong relationships. Carl and the team at Yew Tree Dairy found an excellent partner in Müller and we wish them well for the future.