The deal

FRP Corporate Finance advises on £13.7 million trade sale of specialist packaging business

Our Corporate Finance team has advised the shareholders of Suttons Performance Packaging (Suttons), a protective packaging manufacturing business based in Cambridgeshire, on its £13.7 million sale to Macfarlane Group PLC (Macfarlane).

Founded in 1962, Suttons supplies specialist protective packaging to the medical, electronics and industrial sectors across the UK.

The business, which has manufacturing facilities in Chatteris, Cambridgeshire, has consistently grown in recent years. It has a turnover of more than £7 million and 55 employees.

Macfarlane is the UK’s leading protective packaging provider headquartered in Glasgow. It serves more than 20,000 customers across the UK and Europe, including in the e-commerce retail, logistics, medical, defence, aerospace and automotive sectors. The business is growing rapidly via organic and acquisitive growth, and in 2022 acquired Germany-based protective packaging distributor PackMann.

The deal will support the future growth of both businesses by providing their customers with a broader range of protective packaging solutions. Suttons’ two directors, Simon Sutton and John Little, will both remain with the Group following the acquisition.

Our Corporate Finance team, led by Director Ryan Symonds and including Partner Dave Howes and Assistant Manager Edward Jones, provided sell-side advisory services to Suttons. Our team was instrumental in sourcing the acquirer, successfully negotiating and managing the sales process from inception to completion and achieving a strong valuation during the competitive process.

Commenting on the deal, Ryan Symonds, Director at FRP Corporate Finance, said: “Suttons is a market leader in the protective packing industry, and has created a niche service offering which is highly complementary to Macfarlane’s growth strategy. The deal represents an exciting next stage for the business, and comes as Macfarlane continues to grow organically and through acquisitions. We are pleased to have represented the shareholders on their exit and congratulate Simon, John and the wider management team on building a successful business.”

Simon Sutton, Managing Director at Suttons, added: “This strategic transaction will provide significant opportunities for Suttons to continue to expand its teams and product portfolio. Suttons will now be part of a larger packaging group that continues to expand across the UK and Europe, so it’s a significant milestone for our teams.

“The close attention and meticulous guidance provided by FRP Corporate Finance was second to none. Their calm approach to the process not only eased the concerns of the shareholders but made the technical aspects of the transaction easy to understand. Professional throughout, Ryan, Dave and Edward were determined to deliver maximum shareholder value and dealt efficiently to resolve any issue which emerged.

“The shareholders of A E Sutton Ltd would not hesitate in recommending FRP Corporate Finance to any company or individual contemplating selling their business.”