Greencore has offloaded its chilled desserts facility in Minsterley to Müller Dairy UK in a £4.3m deal worth plus stock.
The production facility – which was acquired by Greencore following its swoop on Uniq last September – makes Cadbury chilled desserts, including Cadbury Mousse, Trifle and twin-pot products, which Müller sells under licence from the Dairy Milk maker.
Under the terms of the deal, the existing co-packing arrangement for Cadbury chilled desserts will be terminated.
The disposal is expected to complete at the start of January, when the transfer of production of other premium desserts lines and related manufacturing equipment to Evercreech – the other legacy Uniq site – will be complete.
That step will conclude the restructuring of the Uniq chilled desserts business. Divided into four sectors – premium; everyday; branded; and own-label yoghurts – Uniq overhauled its loss-making everyday desserts business in 2010 and invested significantly in the entire range, with different pack formats and new recipes.
But over the course of a two-year period the cost of cream rocketed by 80% and last year the company was forced to exit everyday desserts, premium yoghurt and cottage cheese markets in order to focus on the growing premium dessert business.
“Müller has the leading position in the UK desserts sector and we are ambitious to build on this,” said Müller UK & Ireland group chief executive Ronald Kers.
“This acquisition gives us the opportunity to further develop Cadbury brand’s presence as part of our portfolio, and bring affordable luxury to the category.”
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