James Briggs’ in Premiere swoop

OLDHAM-based aerosol and speciality chemicals manufacturer James Briggs has snapped up Premiere Products, maker of branded and private label janitorial cleaning products.

James Briggs can trace its roots back to 1830 and Premiere has a similarly strong heritage in the UK as a supplier of products for the commercial and consumer clearning sectors since 1924.

Chairman of James Briggs, Jim Sumner, said Gloucester-based Premiere is one of the most respected and trusted names in the industry, distributing its products widely in the UK and Ireland, but also enjoys strong export sales across Europe and the Middle East, as well as into South East Asia.

He added: “We are delighted to be able to make this announcement. Combining the Premiere brand with our Nilco janitorial business will generate significant new opportunities in both UK and export markets. Premiere’s distribution channels are highly complementary to our Nilco business, making this a very natural fit.”

In the year to June 30 2014, James Briggs company turned over £50m and enjoyed a pre-tax profit of £1.6m.

Mathew Deering of private equity firm Endless, which backed James Briggs’ management buyout in 2013, said: “James Briggs has grown organically by more than 20% since our initial investment and this acquisition will further accelerate the growth in a key strategic area.  We hope this will be the first of several acquisitions in the pipeline.”