Dairy Crest, former owners of Wexford Creameries, have paid £6m (€8.21m) to buy out the other 50% of their joint venture Promovita Ingredients.

Dairy Crest originally set up the company with Fayrefield Foods to supply the enzyme used in developing galacto-oligosaccharide (GOS), a prebiotic often used in infant formula.

Dairy Crest is near completion of a £20m plant to make the prebiotic at its cheese factory in Davidstow, Cornwall.

The product will be on the market when commercial production gets going in early 2016.

Meanwhile, Dairy Crest has also invested £45m (€61.6m) in a manufacturing plant to produce demineralised whey at the same site.

Dairy Crest has had a strategic partnership with Fonterra since 2014 to market and sell the two products in the fast growing global infant formula market.

The dairy company’s sale of its liquid milk business to Muller for £80m (€109.6m) is due to be closed this week.