2 minute read - 25th February 2025
Arla Foods plans £90m investment at Lockerbie site
Arla Foods has revealed plans to invest nearly £90m at its Lockerbie site in Scotland to support the farmer-owned cooperative’s future growth ambitions.
Alongside the £300m site investments announced in 2024, which included £34m investment in Lockerbie’s cheddar production, the UK’s largest dairy cooperative has announced a proposal to further increase the investment in Lockerbie to enable it to future-proof its UK production and support the future of British dairy.
The plans would see a new centre of excellence set up in Lockerbie for the production of UHT and lactose-free milk, which could create new roles in the local area. As a result, Arla is proposing to close its Settle site in North Yorkshire. Part of the proposal could also impact some colleagues based at Arla’s Stourton Dairy in Leeds; however, Arla does not envisage any redundancies for its Stourton employees. Arla added that it will enter into a collective consultation period with all colleagues impacted by the proposal.
Arla Foods has revealed plans to invest nearly £90m at its Lockerbie site in Scotland. As a result, it would close its Settle site, but the company said the decision was based on needing to strengthen its manufacturing network and future-proof dairy production in the UK. Picture: Arla Foods
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Fran Ball, VP of production at Arla Foods, said: “The proposals announced today form part of our strategy to strengthen our manufacturing network and future-proof dairy production in the UK, and whilst this is an exciting announcement for Lockerbie our priority right now is to support our colleagues. At Arla, we are committed to supporting everyone through periods of change, and we understand that this will be a time of uncertainty for colleagues. We will be entering into a period of consultation with everyone affected by these proposals.”
The news follows the announcement of Arla’s 2024 annual results, in which the dairy cooperative confirmed it made record investments of more than 1 billion euros globally in 2024. The investments included over £300m across Arla’s UK sites, including £179m in state-of-the-art technology at its Taw Valley creamery in Devon, which allowed the business to create mozzarella in the UK.
Bas Padberg, managing director of Arla Foods UK, added: “The proposed investment into Lockerbie showcases our commitment to driving change in the UK and supporting the future of British dairy. There is an increasing focus on the role the UK food industry plays in helping to tackle the health crisis and provide good food to nourish a growing population. We are aware that this proposal has the potential to impact colleagues across some of our UK sites, and our priority is to support them through this challenging time.”
