Navigator Paper UK Plans To Acquire Accrol To Expand Western European Household Paper Market

Navigator Paper UK has launched an offer to acquire Accrol Group, a Blackburn, U.K.-based manufacturer of household paper and wipes.Accrol's board of directors has recommended the offer, subject to regulatory approval.

For the year ended April 30, 2023, Accrol reported annual sales of £242 million and revenues of £15.6 million.In January, Accrol expanded into the housewares market with the acquisition of Somerset, U.K.-based wipes producer Severn Delta, which reported annual revenues of £5 million.Accrol initially entered the wipes market in 2021 when it acquired John Dale, a UK-based manufacturer of flushable and biodegradable wipes.

Navigator Paper UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Navigator Company, a large Portuguese supplier of pulp, paper, tissue, packaging and biomass energy.Navigator Paper UK is ranked seventh globally in the production of high quality printing and writing paper, and is the largest supplier of eucalyptus pulp in Europe.In 2014, the company entered the tissue market and has since undertaken a series of acquisitions and new mill investments, bringing its total tissue capacity to 165,000 tons and its tissue converting capacity to 180,000 tons.

Navigator sees Accrol as a key pillar in its continued expansion into the Western European tissue market due to its significant presence in the UK retailer brand market.