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NorthEdge eyes AIM float for Accrol

NorthEdge-backed Accrol Group Holdings has revealed plans to to float on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Dealings are expected to commence on AIM on 10 June 2016.

Established in 1993 by the Hussain family, Accrol has grown to become a leading supplier of tissue products, supplying both the premium retail and UK discount markets. Accrol has a 35 per cent market share of the discount market and seven per cent. of the overall UK tissue market. The business manufactures a wide range of household and away from home tissue products for a number of blue-chip retailers and service providers from its purpose-built 350,000 sq ft manufacturing, storage and distribution facility in Blackburn.
 
NorthEdge Capital has worked with the Company since July 2014, when it backed the management team in a buyout worth GBP66 million. The IPO will represent a partial exit for NorthEdge, with the firm retaining a minority stake in the business.
 
Over the last three years, Accrol has experienced rapid growth, with sales exceeding GBP100 million in 2015 and EBITDA growing 13.7 per cent year-on-year. This has enabled the Company to increase its headcount to more than 450, becoming a major employer in the Lancashire region. The business has also continued to increase manufacturing capacity at its Blackburn facility. It has committed circa GBP18.2 million of capital expenditure in the last three years and has recently purchased two additional converting lines, taking total capacity to 143,000 tonnes per annum. 
 
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, says: “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.”
 
Peter Cheung, Chairman of Accrol, says: “We are delighted by the level of interest and support we have received from high quality institutional investors. We are a very well invested company with an attractive and progressive dividend policy and we look forward to creating value for all of our shareholders in this new and exciting stage in Accrol’s development.”
 
Majid Hussain, the outgoing CEO of Accrol, adds: “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. The new management team will include CEO Steve Crossley, who has over 30 years’ experience in UK food manufacturing and distribution at senior management or board level, including at Unigate plc and Northern Foods plc, along with Joanne Lake and Steve Hammett as non-exec directors. The existing Accrol board also includes Executive Chairman Peter Cheung and CFO James Flude, both of whom were introduced by NorthEdge and have been in position for over a year.
 

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