Mills & Reeve have advised Cambridgeshire Company Anson Packaging on sale to Danish firm Faerch Plast.

Our corporate team acted for the shareholders of Avro Holdings Ltd, Anson’s parent company, on the successful sale of Avro to Danish company Faerch Plast. Faerch is Europe’s leading producer of packaging for the ready meals industry.

Anson has been owned by the Dujardin family for 40 years. It is the UK’s leading independent manufacturer of high-quality rigid packaging solutions to food industry. It operates from two sites in Cambridgeshire and is particularly known for its innovative design capability, the use of sustainable materials (recycled PET) and its strong position in the food to go market.

Founded in 1969, Faerch Plast specialises in optimised packaging solutions for ready meals, fresh meat and cold food and snacks. With headquarters in Holstebro in Denmark, the company employs over 500 people in factories in England, Denmark and the Czech Republic.

The acquisition of Anson is a key part in Faerch’s growth strategy and will greatly enhance its product offering to the food industry. The two businesses are culturally and operationally very complementary and share a focus on quality, design, innovation and customer service. Faerch Plast plans a comprehensive three-year investment programme in the production facilities planned and aim to further develop the existing competencies.

Chairman of Anson Packaging Mark Dujardin, whose family founded the business, said: “The combination of Anson and Faerch will create exceptional opportunities to better serve our customers through an unrivalled product range, design capability and manufacturing excellence. We are delighted with the successful conclusion of the transaction and Anson’s management team very much look forward to working with Faerch. I am very pleased to have been invited to join the Board of Faerch and I will continue as a shareholder in Faerch. My thanks to Anthony and his team for their advice and hard work in representing me and my fellow shareholders in this transaction”.

Corporate partner Anthony McGurk, who led the Mills & Reeve team that worked for the shareholders of Anson Packaging, said: “This deal represents a major investment in the UK food packaging market from Europe and is very positive news for the business community in Cambridgeshire. and we’re proud to have worked on the acquisition, making sure it was completed to the satisfaction of both parties and within their preferred timetable.”