A packaging firm founded in Fife has been acquired in an £18 million deal.
Pitreavie was set up by friends Joe Diamond and Gordon Delaney in 2005, when it was registered in Dunfermline.
It operates one of its main factories in Glenrothes and also has two sites in Cumbernauld and Aberdeen.
The business has been acquired by Glasgow-based Macfarlane Group, one of the UK’s largest packaging firms.
The acquisition is Macfarlane’s largest in the past two decades. The £18m deal includes an earn-out of up to £4m based on agreed profit growth targets over two years.
Pitreavie investments and growth in Fife
Pitreavie has undergone significant growth and investment in the past decade, including multi-million-pound investments in Glenrothes.
In 2019 it acquired Leipers Associated Packaging of Aberdeen.
The following year it announced a £3.8m investment in a new Cumbernauld factory which has the capacity to produce more than 30 million boxes a year.
After this investment, the company moved its headquarters to Glasgow.
In 2024, Pitreavie had sales of £24.8m and pre-tax profits of £1.3m. It has 159 employees across its four sites.
In an announcement to the stock market, Macfarlane said: “Pitreavie has an excellent senior management team, that has been instrumental in driving the growth of the business in recent years.
“They will remain with the business post-completion to support the continued growth of both Macfarlane and Pitreavie.
“There are significant opportunities for the growth of both Pitreavie and Macfarlane.”
Founders on selling
The acquisition will be funded from Macfarlane’s existing bank facility. The group continues to operate well within its recently-improved banking facility of £40m.
Mr Diamond said: “We are immensely proud of all we have achieved under the Pitreavie banner. We knew that the sale of the company had to be to a business with the same expertise, ambition and deep respect for the industry.”
Mr Delaney added: “Macfarlane Group is a perfect fit with obvious synergies and we are excited that our employees and customers will have access to such a broad range of packaging solutions going forward.
“We especially want to thank managing director Stephen Heslop and all of our valued employees, across our four sites, for their work in helping drive the growth story under our ownership. We wish the new venture every success for the future.”
Advisers were EY and Burness Paull on the Pitreavie side and Wright Johnston & Mackenzie on the buyer side.
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