UK - McLelland ends 155 years in the family for £150m

One of Scotland’s oldest family firms, Glasgow-based McLelland Group, which manufacturers the fast-growing "Seriously Strong" cheddar brand, has been sold to a French food giant for an estimated £150 million. The company, owned by three members of the Irvine family and started in 1849, has been bought by Lactalis, one of the world’s leading cheese makers. Yesterday joint managing director Douglas Irvine, 35, who owns the firm with brother Alastair, 39, and chairman Hugh, their father, said the sale would open the door for worldwide distribution of its brands, which also include Galloway, Campbeltown, Mull of Kintyre, Isle of Bute, Arran and Orkney cheeses. Lactalis, which is also family-owned, sells its brands to 140 countries and its portfolio includes Président, Societe Roquefort and Invernizzi in Italy. "This opens the door to huge potential for export of our cheeses," said Irvine. Asked if there was any emotional pain in selling the 155-year-old company, he added: "Yes, there is a great deal of history and tradition in the business. But I’m happy that the way Lactalis’s owning Besnier family plans to grow the business means there will be no radical changes - that’s very comforting to us." McLelland, winner last month of the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland’s 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award for outstanding contribution to Scottish food and drink, has 432 staff at six production and packaging sites across Scotland, and one in Aeron Valley in Wales, and Irvine said their futures were "absolutely guaranteed". "Lactalis only buys well-run and managed businesses. There will be no cutbacks and no alterations to the business. In fact there has been talk of further recruitment. They have the same passion for local cheese-making that we have, and the business will become stronger as a result," he added. Irvine refused to confirm the sale price, but based on McLelland’s sales of £156m in the year to 30 April, 2004 with profits of £11.5m, sources suggested that a figure of around £150m would be considered accurate. The business has grown dramatically in the past decade - in 1995, turnover was just £28m. Lactalis had sales of 5.35 billion (£3.67bn) in 2003, and employs 20,000 staff worldwide. The company collects 6.9 billion litres of milk per annum to process liquid milk, cheese, cream, butter and fresh dairy products. Its UK sales increased last year to £42m. McLelland’s Seriously Strong brand is now the second-best selling cheddar brand in the UK, after Cathedral, and the fifth-best selling cheese, with sales of over £60m. Both the Irvine brothers will be leaving the business immediately with the sale, as will their father. Andy Smith, the managing director of Lactalis UK, is to take over the running of the business and will now be based in Glasgow. He added: "We are committed to building the brands that we own. All the production facilities operated by McLellands will continue to require milk at current volumes or greater and we have no plans to alter our milk sourcing arrangements."