The Irish Dairy Board has increased its presence in the British cheese market with the acquisition of North Downs Dairy, a privately-owned cheese distribution business based in Kent and Somerset.

North Downs has a turnover of £40 million sterling compared to the dairy board's existing £200 million turnover in Britain. Following the acquisition, the dairy board will distribute about 70,000 tonnes of cheese a year in Britain.

No details of the price paid have been disclosed, but analysts believe that, based on the relatively low margins that cheese distribution companies enjoy, North Downs may have had profits of around £1.5 million. This would suggest that the dairy board has paid between £10 million and £15 million for North Downs, assuming that the British company was not heavily laden with debt.