GLASGOW’S Macfarlane Group has returned to the acquisition trail with a deal worth up to £9 million for a company based in Cambridgeshire.
Macfarlane declared the purchase of AE Sutton, a specialist protective manufacturing business founded in 1962, was in line with its long-established strategy to expand through acquisition and organic growth.
The English company, which trades as Suttons Performance Packaging, has 55 employees, including two directors who will remain with the business further to the deal. The £9m acquisition includes an earn‐out of up to £2.5m based on agreed profit growth targets over two years.
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The deal comes just days after Macfarlane chief executive Peter Atkinson said he was hopeful of completing "at least one" acquisition in the first half of the year, as the company reported a rise in profits and turnover for 2022.
Mr Atkinson said this morning: “Suttons is a profitable, well invested company with an experienced management team that is fully committed to the business going forward.
"The acquisition is being funded using our existing bank facility and will be earnings enhancing. We look forward working with the team at Suttons to support its continued growth and develop opportunities for us to work together to provide all our customers with a broader portfolio of protective packaging solutions.”
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Suttons made a pre-tax profit of £0.9m on sales of £7.4m in the year ended March 31, 2022.
Macfarlane reported a seven per cent rise in pre-tax profits to £19.9m for 2022, which came as revenue from continuing operations climbed by 10% to £290.4m, despite a slowdown in demand from the e-commerce sector. The company highlighted the contribution to the results from its acquisitions of Cornwall’s Carters Packaging in March 2021 and German firm PackMann in May 2022.
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