Scottish dairy business buys stressed rival

Graham's, the leading independent dairy business in Scotland, has bought out its rival Claymore Dairies, in a move that its says will increase its capacity and give it additional flexibility.

The purchase of Claymore marks the family-run business's 25th acquisition over the past 17 years, and a spokesman for Graham's said it should lift the company's annual turnover to around £50 million.

Graham's has established a name for itself in both own-label organic and conventional dairy products, holding supply contracts with all the leading UK retailers. Its largest customer is Sainsbury's, which it supplies with all of its own-label organic milk and Scottish cream.

A spokesman for Graham's said there would be no redundancies involved in the purchase of Claymore, bringing the total employee count to more than 400. Claymore Dairies' managing director, Ian Larg, said "The merger with Graham's will lead to greater security for the dairy, its staff and supplying dairy farmers."

Claymore had experienced significant difficulties as a result of sector pressures. Formerly owned by Arla Foods, it was taken over in a management buy-out earlier this year, which saw the loss of 65 jobs and the cutting of the prices it could pay to its farmers.

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