Flint based wet wipe business bought out in £3.9m deal

A Flint-based manufacturer of flushable and biodegradable wet wipes has been bought up in a deal worth nearly £4m

Accrol PLC has acquired John Dale Limited, which operates from premises on the Castle Park Industrial Estate.

The main core of the Flint manufacturers business is developing its own brand baby wipe, wet wipe and facial tissue products.

John Dale, which employs around 60 people, currently operates a single daily shift, five days a week and generates annualised revenue of £6million.

The acquisition includes the 47,000 sq.ft Flint property from which the business operates.

Both the business and the property have been purchased from John and Pauline Dale.

The acquisition of John Dale is a “strategic move into high growth products within the wet wipes segment of the tissue market, providing a well-invested platform on which to build a sizeable business.” Accrol has said.

Accrol’s primary areas of focus will be the expansion of the anti-bacterial and anti-viral wet wipe ranges and optimisation of production facilities.

Dan Wright, Executive Chairman of Accrol, said:

“I am delighted to announce the purchase of the John Dale business in Wales.

A move into the attractive wet wipes’ segment has been on our radar for some time; as a natural extension of our product range and wholly in line with our growth strategy across the household products category.

It was essential, however, for us to find a business with a disruptive and environmentally friendly product which we could scale through organic investment.

John Dale fits our criteria for growth – quality of product and market positioning, operating excellence in its asset base, and the optimisation of our distribution strengths.

It gives Accrol a ready-made platform on which to build a sizeable wet wipes operation and presents an unmissable opportunity for us to compound shareholder value.”

Gareth Jenkins, CEO of Accrol added:

“John Dale is an excellent business, with three modern wet wipe machines, which are significantly under-utilised.

The UK wet wipe market is valued at £0.5bn. We are confident that, with our wide customer base, market and operational know-how and a modest investment in additional machine assets, we can scale this business significantly, while generating strong margins, over the next two to three years.

The slack within the property and working capital assets of the business will fund much of this growth and accelerate financial returns.”