SPECIALIST cheese supplier H T Webb, with sites in Springhead Road, Northfleet, and Rainham, has been bought by Arla Foods, Europe's biggest dairy for an undisclosed sum.

An Arla spokesman said, from the company's Leeds headquarters, that there were no plans to cut Webb's workforce - 225 in Northfleet and 35 in Rainham. In fact, more investment could lead to more jobs.

He said: "This is not a big corporation coming in to smash a little company. We've admired HT Webb for quite some time.

"It's a very good little business, it's got a healthy turnover - £65 million - and it's established itself as an expert in the field. We're looking at a company that is doing a very good job and will be a huge asset to Arla Foods."

H T Webb's joint managing directors Alan Preston and Peter Clarke are staying on following the takeover.

"Together with Arla we are looking forward to creating a centre of

excellence for speciality cheese in the UK that will be the focus for driving forward the speciality cheese market," said Mr Preston.

Mr Clarke said: "We are anticipating this new challenge with great enthusiasm and excitement and believe we have a winning combination of knowledge and skills."

"The move is a perfect marriage," said Arla's chief executive, David Salkeld. "HT Webb's flexibility in sourcing, cutting and packing operations together with Arla's experience of large-scale speciality cheese production and retailer contacts mean a bright future for HT Webb within the Arla Foods family."

HT Webb buys Dutch, French, German, Italian and Swiss cheeses, selling mainly to supermarkets. It also cuts and wraps a number of home-produced speciality cheeses, including double Gloucester, red Leicester, cheddar, blue Wensleydale and Somerset brie.

Arla is a co-operative owned by Swedish and Danish farmers. It was formed two years ago with the merger of two large Scandinavian dairy companies MD Foods, Denmark, and Arla Foods, Sweden. It processes seven billion litres of milk a year and employs nearly 20,000 worldwide.