NorthEdge eyes AIM float for Accrol
Leading independent tissue converter, Accrol Group Holdings plc, has announced its intention to float on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Dealings are expected to commence on AIM on 10th of June 2016.
Established in 1993, Accrol has grown to become a leading supplier of tissue products, supplying premium retail and UK discount markets. Accrol has a 35 percent market share of the discount market and seven percent of the overall UK tissue market. The business manufactures a wide range of household and travel tissue products for various blue-chip retailers and service providers from its manufacturing, storage, and distribution facility in Blackburn, UK.
NorthEdge Capital has worked with the company since July 2014, when it backed the management team in a buyout worth £66 million. The IPO will represent a partial exit for NorthEdge, with the firm retaining a minority stake in the business.
Accrol has experienced rapid growth over the past three years, with sales exceeding £100 million in 2015 and EBITDA growing 13.7 percent year-on-year. This has enabled the company to increase its staff team to more than 450, becoming a major employer in the Lancashire region.
The listing will enable Accrol to enhance its operations as it looks to target further organic growth in the discount market, as well as increasing market share with UK retailers by focusing customer service and offering a wider product set arising from planned new product development and innovation.
Dan Wright, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Portfolio at NorthEdge Capital, said: “Accrol has enjoyed sustained growth during the two years we have been working with the business. The drive and passion of the management team to develop the business has been exemplary. A prospective IPO is an opportunity for the team to further build on a robust platform for growth.”
Majid Hussain, the outgoing CEO of Accrol, added: “My father, Jawid Hussain, started this business in 1993 and the family has built it into the successful Company it is today. NorthEdge’s investment in 2014 provided the business with the funding to expand its offering and operations further and we believe that now is the right time for the business to IPO to provide a platform to support further contract wins with new customers.”
The Hussain family will remain Company shareholders and are undergoing a transitioned exit from the management of the business.
