Dairy Crest Celebrates 20 Years as a Listed Company
British dairy group Dairy Crest is celebrating its 20th year as a public company. Since it was originally floated in 1996, Dairy Crest has evolved from a supply-driven, commoditised business to a lean, branded and added value business. Today’s business has industry-leading margins and derives nearly all of its income from its market-leading brands and added value products, including the nation’s favourite cheese brand Cathedral City. Having grown from retail sales of just £12 million in 1996 to almost £300 million today, Cathedral City is a great British success story.
Mark Allen, chief executive of Dairy Crest, says: “I’m very proud that twenty years on from our original listing, Dairy Crest continues to thrive as a listed British dairy company. During that period we have adapted and taken bold decisions to transform the business and ensure that our future prospects are more exciting than ever. Our strategy of de-risking the business and pursuing sales in branded and added value markets continues to work. Our market-leading brands and growing presence in new, high growth markets through our infant formula business will underpin future growth and attractive returns for shareholders.”
