Arla plans to invest in Leeds

Arla said the UK, which is its largest market, recorded retail and foods service revenue of £1.94bn last year, up from £1.79bn in 2016.

A spokesman said: “This growth, along with the company’s recent £72m investment in the UK business shows Arla’s commitment to continue to further build the UK dairy industry.

“It also signals the strength of Arla’s farmer-owned co-operative model as growth is driven while balancing the challenges facing the dairy industry such as volatility in the global milk market, a weak British pound and Brexit uncertainties.”

Arla plans to invest £1.3m during 2018 at its site in Stourton, in Leeds, which employs 460 staff. Part of this investment will be spent on upgrading milk production lines at the site.

In recent years, Arla has invested more than £5.5m to improve the facilities at Stourton. Arla also employs 400 staff at its head office in Leeds.

Arla plans to invest around £300,000 on general upgrades at its facility in Settle, North Yorkshire, which employs around 100 staff.

Tomas Pietrangeli, managing director, Arla Foods UK, commented: “Arla was both the fastest growing FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brand in the UK and the only leading dairy company delivering branded growth.”