Protective packaging company sold to Scottish rival

Protective packaging company GWP has been acquired by Glasgow-based Macfarlane Group for just over £15 million.

GWP supplies packaging solutions to customers across the south-west from its manufacturing facilities in Salisbury and Cricklade.

It firm employs 107 people, including six directors. It is understood that five directors will be staying with the company.

The firm was sold for £15.1 million, plus around £3 million of net assets.

The firm thrived during the pandemic, winning a contract to supply the NHS with 5.5 million PPE visors and quickly moving into the manufacture and supply of temporary workplace partitions for use in shops and on production lines.

Back in October it announced sales had increased by more than £1 million year-on-year to £13.25 million.

Peter Atkinson, chief executive of Macfarlane, said: “GWP is a profitable, growing, well-invested company with an experienced management team that is fully committed to the business going forward.

“The acquisition will be funded using bank debt and will be earnings enhancing. We look forward to working with the team at GWP to support its continued growth and develop opportunities for us to work together to provide all our customers with a broader portfolio of value-add and sustainable protective packaging solutions.”

GWP Group was advised by Swindon-based commercial law firm Clark Holt, which has been advising the GWP group of companies on corporate, real estate and commercial matters over the last 25 years.

GWP CEO David Pedley said: “When the shareholders of GWP decided to sell our business we did not hesitate to instruct Clark Holt to act for us. With more than 25 years’ of experience with them acting for us in a whole range of commercial matters, we were confident we would be in safe hands.

“The structure of our deal was reasonably complex and involved multiple potential buyers. To add to this, the shareholders were keen to transact in a very tight timescale. Philip Humphreys and his amazing team pulled all the elements together and managed the transaction in a pragmatic and timely fashion whilst interpreting our wishes perfectly. I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Clark Holt’s services to anyone. As a commercial law practice, they certainly punch well above their weight.”

The Clark Holt team involved in the transaction included Philip Humphreys and Gail Vallis (Corporate), Karron Whitter (Real Estate) and Peter James (Commercial).

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