Accrol Group acquires wet wipes manufacturer in £3.9m deal

Dan Wright, executive chairman of Accrol

Listed tissue paper and kitchen roll manufacturer Accrol Group will be ramping up production of anti-bacterial and anti-viral wet wipes after snapping up a North Wales business for £3.9m.

The acquisition of  John Dale, a flushable and biodegradable wet wipes manufacturer, is a strategic move by Accrol into high growth products within the wet wipes segment of the tissue market.

The deal, funded from the Blackburn group’s existing cash reserves, will provide a platform on which to build a sizeable business.

John Dale is a privately-owned manufacturer of own branded and private label wet wipes and facial tissues for the UK retail market

While both companies share several customers, John Dale also brings a number of ‘significant new’ accounts into the wider group.

The addition of incremental volume to the Accrol facial tissue business will serve to leverage the Group’s existing production facility in Blackburn

The business currently operates a single daily shift, five days a week, from its owned premises in Flint, North Wales, which is currently generating annualised revenue of £6m and EBITDA (normalised) of £600,000.

Following the acquisition, Accrol will focus on expanding the anti-bacterial and anti-viral wet wipe ranges and optimise production facilities.

The acquisition includes the 47,000 sq ft property from which the business operates. Both the business and the property were purchased from John and Pauline Dale.

Dan Wright, executive chairman of Accrol, said: “A move into the attractive wet wipes’ segment has been on our radar for some time; as a natural extension of our product range and wholly in line with our growth strategy across the household products category.

“It was essential, however, for us to find a business with a disruptive and environmentally friendly product which we could scale through organic investment.

“John Dale fits our criteria for growth – quality of product and market positioning, operating excellence in its asset base, and the optimisation of our distribution strengths.

“It gives Accrol a ready-made platform on which to build a sizeable wet wipes operation and presents an unmissable opportunity for us to compound shareholder value.”

Accrol

Gareth Jenkins, CEO of Accrol added: “The UK wet wipe market is valued at £0.5bn. We are confident that, with our wide customer base, market and operational know-how and a modest investment in additional machine assets, we can scale this business significantly, while generating strong margins, over the next two to three years.”

A team from Zeus Capital acted as nominated advisor and broker on the deal.

Deloitte’s corporate finance team led by Ben Wood and Jarek Steadman in Manchester acted as lead advisor to Accrol Group on the transaction.

Other advisers on the deal included: Buyer Legal: Mark Halliwell and Ffion Brumwell-Hughes at Gateley and vendor M&A: Matt Dillon at LaSalle Corporate Finance.

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