130 jobs saved as packaging businesses sold out of administration
Some 130 jobs have been saved after two packaging businesses were sold in a pre-pack deal to Reflex Group.
Raj Mittal and Steve Stokes, partners at FRP Advisory, were appointed joint administrators to Fusion Flexibles and Mercury Packaging based in Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire on 30 October 2018. The businesses were sold through a pre-pack to Mansfield-based Reflex, and all staff transferred as part of the transaction.
Fusion, formerly known as CPS Packaging Limited, was incorporated in 1976 and manufactures plain and printed flexible packaging materials, supplying the food, publishing, retail, security and medical industries. In 2017, Fusion integrated the business and assets of Mercury, a printing, conversion and lamination company that is no longer trading.
Fusion employs 134 employees and operates from leasehold premises in Leicester (88 staff) and Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire (46). For the 13-month period to 31 January 2018, it recorded combined revenues of around £16.4m.
The business experienced cashflow pressures in recent months and, after exploring its options, pursued an accelerated sale process, which has resulted in the transaction.
Raj Mittal, partner at FRP Advisory, said: “This transaction demonstrates the continued appetite for consolidation in the packaging industry, but also the impact of wider economic factors on manufacturing businesses in the UK, such as rising raw material pricing and overhead costs. We are pleased to have completed the sale to Reflex Group and to have secured the future of the employees.”
