A WREXHAM firm has been taken over by one of the UK's largest independently-owned dairy groups.

Meadow Foods has announced the acquisition of Wrexham Industrial Estate-based Roil Foods Limited, who are manufacturers of edible dairy based oils including organic AMF, concentrated butter and butter ghee.

Meadow Foods says the acquisition is a further step towards fulfilling its strategic objective of growing the business through organic expansion.

Both sets of employees will be consulted over the transfer of production to Meadow Foods' site in Chester in the future, although Meadow Foods insists it will need the expertise and experience of Roil Foods staff to meet existing demand from customers.

Mark Chantler, Chief Executive of Meadow Foods, said: “This acquisition will further strengthen our portfolio of quality dairy ingredients and marks the next step in the delivery of the ambitious growth plans we have for the business.

"There are obvious operational synergies between the businesses and we’re excited by the opportunity to extend our range and reach into new markets and product lines.”

The announcement follows a strategic investment into Meadow Foods from Paine Schwartz Partners, a leading global food and agribusiness investment firm, in 2016.

Meadow Foods has sites in Chester, Peterborough and Holme-on-Spalding Moor where it manufactures value added dairy ingredients seven days a week for some of the UK’s best known food manufacturers.

It employs more than 275 people and handles in excess of 650 million litres of milk each year direct from over 650 farmer suppliers from across the UK.