Leeds-based Allied Glass is sold by affiliate of Sun European Partners LLP for £315m

The affiliate has signed a definitive agreement to sell Allied Glass to Verallia Group, the third largest producer of glass packaging for beverages and food products globally, which is headquartered in France.

Established in 1874 and headquartered in Leeds, Allied is one of the largest UK-based manufacturers of glass packaging containers for the premium spirits, food and drinks markets. It specialises in shorter production runs for bespoke premium bottles which are manufactured to order.

A statement to accompany the announcement of the sale said: “Since an affiliate of Sun European acquired Allied in December 2019, value creation was

accelerated through product innovation, increasing recycled content in glass production.

"Allied also introduced activity-based, product level costing platforms to enhance commercial and operational decision making and cost savings.

“Furthermore, a capex programme for a new facility increased capacity and manufacturing efficiency. Each of these initiatives expanded the company’s market share and profitability, growing EBITDA significantly.”

Paul Daccus, managing director of Sun European Partners, said: “Allied is an outstanding business with an exceptional management team. Before investing in the company, we identified several operational opportunities and have worked with management since 2019 to execute on those, including ESG-friendly product innovation, SKU reporting and a significant capex programme enhancing plant utilisation.

"Our work with Allied Glass underlines Sun European’s commitment to partnering with outstanding management teams to drive value creation. This sale has allowed us to achieve a very successful outcome for Allied Glass and our investors, and we’re confident that Allied Glass will continue to go from strength to strength as part of Verallia, a global leader in glass manufacturing.”

Alan Henderson, CEO of Allied Glass, added: “Our partnership with the Sun European team has been a great success, and today Allied Glass is a market leader in its field, with impressive technical capability and a flexible customer-focused approach.

"Our shared values and focus on delivering a customer-first strategy, combined with Sun European’s operational knowledge and deep manufacturing expertise have allowed us to transform and grow the business further over the last two to three years as well as creating further value through innovation and internal development.”

Verallia employs around 10,000 people in 32 glass production facilities in 11 countries.

The company is the third largest producer globally of glass containers for food and beverages, serving more than 10,000 businesses around the world. Verallia produced more than 16 billion bottles and jars and achieved revenues of €2.7bin in 2021. It is listed on compartment A of the Euronext Paris stock exchange.

Sun European Partners, LLP is a private investment advisory firm. Since 1995, affiliates of Sun European have invested in more than 475 companies worldwide with revenues in excess of €40bn across a range of industries and transaction structures.

Sun European was advised on the transaction by Baird (merger and acquisition advisory), EY (financial), S&C (tax) and DLA Piper (legal).