Despite some fears that it might be difficult to hold the LacPatrick milk pool together while a proposed merger deal with Lakeland is finalised, it appears that the vast majority of LacPatrick suppliers have remained with the co-op.

In total, the amount of litres lost since the proposed deal was announced at the end of June is thought to be only around four to five million, which is only a fraction of the total pool – estimated at close to 600m litres.

The handful who have left are mainly suppliers who had already put in a notice to leave.

Most active in targeting LacPatrick suppliers in NI is understood to be Aurivo, although others, including Dale Farm, have also met with potential new recruits.

To date, the main message coming back from LacPatrick suppliers is that they want to see what the Lakeland merger brings before making any decisions.

The vast majority are also on supply contracts and reluctant to break those deals. It is understood that around 35 LacPatrick suppliers have a notice in to leave from 1 January 2019.

Meanwhile, sources indicate that the process of due diligence, ahead of the proposed merger with Lakeland, should be completed in the next couple of weeks.

Following that, it is expected that LacPatrick will hold shareholder meetings by mid-September, with a vote of shareholders on the proposed merger to take place a week later.

Lakeland shareholders will also have to vote to approve the deal, and that is probably one of the most significant hurdles to overcome.

The vast majority of Lakeland shareholders are based in the Republic of Ireland and will have to be convinced of the merits of a deal that will see the new co-op with more than half its milk bought and processed in NI.

While LacPatrick has a debt estimated at over €30m, senior management at Lakeland make the point that the milk pool and processing sites are attractive, and building them from scratch would cost a lot more.