Share tips: The dairy sector’s last trophy asset

Britain's dairy sector has attracted a lot of takeover attention recently, says Paul Hill. And this quality milk producer is just waiting to be snapped up.

The scarcity principle that as assets dry up, prices rise is key to investing. Take the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) arena, where German yogurt and cheese maker Mller has just forked out £280m for Robert Wiseman Dairies. Excluding Arla, which is probably off limits due to its complex ownership structure, there is now only one big milk producer potentially up for grabs: Dairy Crest.

The attraction for buyers is that the industry is relatively stable and insulated from low-cost imports. Fresh milk and yogurt is produced locally due to its short shelf life, and Britain's distinctive cheeses and spreads obtain their rich flavours from the grass eaten by domestically reared cattle. This is the reason Dairy Crest is so special: it's the last trophy asset' in its sector.

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Paul gained a degree in electrical engineering and went on to qualify as a chartered management accountant. He has extensive corporate finance and investment experience and is a member of the Securities Institute.

Over the past 16 years Paul has held top-level financial management and M&A roles for blue-chip companies such as O2, GKN and Unilever. He is now director of his own capital investment and consultancy firm, PMH Capital Limited.

Paul is an expert at analysing companies in new, fast-growing markets, and is an extremely shrewd stock-picker.