Gloucester, UK-based Bloomfields, one of the UK’s leading independent industrial packaging and materials suppliers, has been acquired by the UK’s largest packaging distributor, Macfarlane Group.
Macfarlane says the purchase is part a strategic move to increase its reach in the south-west of the UK. It is paying “up to £2m” for Bloomfields, an owner-managed packaging distributor that employs 22 people which recorded sales of almost £4m in the last financial year. The initial purchase price is £1.15m, with the balanced linked to company earnings in the coming year.
Bloomfields supplies general purpose packaging materials; its product specialities include shelf-ready and retail-ready packaging, while customers include Johnson & Johnson, Tesco and Iceland Frozen Foods.
Peter Atkinson, Macfarlane ceo, says of the acquisition: “This is a good business and there is considerable personal chemistry between our two companies. As well as increasing our customer base in the area we can offer Bloomfields’ customers a wide range of products and improved local service through our distribution centres in Coventry, Wigan and Milton Keynes.”
Colin Griffiths, the owner-manager of Bloomfields at Quedgeley, Gloucester, will, continue to lead the company’s sales.