Bunzl announces several new acquisitions, completes another

Distribution and service specialist Bunzl unveiled its latest strategic moves to expand its global presence on Tuesday, through the acquisition of several businesses in Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands, and Canada.

The FTSE 100 company said it made its foray into Spain's hospitality sector in June, by acquiring La Cartuja Complementos Hostelería.

It said the Spanish distributor, which deals in foodservice and hospitality equipment, reported revenue of €5m in the prior year.

In July, an agreement was signed by the group to integrate Grupo Lanlimp into its portfolio.

Grupo Lanlimp, a leading distributor of cleaning and hygiene products in Brazil, boasted revenue of BRL 210m (£33m) in 2022.

However, the finalisation of the acquisition was pending approval from competition authorities.

Bunzl said following that, in August it acquired the Dutch firm Groveko.

The board said the company, which raked in €23m in 2022, stood out as the Benelux region's top provider of state-of-the-art robotic and smart cleaning solutions.

It said the acquisition would broaden Bunzl's product spectrum, and also tap into a burgeoning product niche.

In the same month, Bunzl moved to strengthen its North American presence by acquiring PackPro in Canada.

PackPro, a provider of diverse packaging solutions to sectors including food processing and industrial customers, complemented Bunzl's existing Canadian operations.

The acquisition was poised to enhance Bunzl's geographical reach for industrial clientele within the country.

PackPro reported earnings of CAD 33m (£20m) in 2022.

In addition to the new acquisitions, Bunzl confirmed the completion of its acquisition of Leal Equipamentos de Proteção in Brazil, following an earlier announcement on 30 May.

As a specialised safety distributor, it said Leal boasted a robust in-house brand portfolio and registered revenue of BRL 216m in 2022.

“I am delighted to welcome these new acquisitions to the Bunzl family - it is very exciting to see the broad range of sectors and end markets represented,” said chief executive officer Frank van Zanten.

“This truly demonstrates the great breadth of opportunities that we have around the world for continued acquisition growth through consolidation of our fragmented markets and geographic expansion.

“Our pipeline remains active and the strength of our balance sheet supports our ability to continue investing in the significant opportunities that we see.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.