BEWI Announces Full Acquisition of Jablite Group

BEWI, providers of packaging, components, and insulation, has completed a £10 million acquisition of insulation and packaging company Jablite Group by buying an additional 51 per cent of the company after its purchase of 49 per cent in 2020.

Jablite showed an annual turnover of £25.4 million for the year to 31 May 2021 with a pre-tax profit of £0.7million. It has manufactured expanded polystyrene (EPS) for roof, wall and floor insulation applications and civil engineering as Jablite for nearly 50 years, and produced packaging as Styropack.

In 2020, the company initiated a restructuring programme, including closure of two facilities, leaving three facilities with Styropack in Aberdeen, Howden  and Ford on the Sussex coast. This has resulted in profitability improvement over the last two years, the company says, claiming profits of circa £40 million and profit margins between 5-10% this year to May 2022.

Acquisition of Jablite

Christian Bekken, CEO of BEWI said, “We are very pleased to now be able to include Jablite fully to our team. The company has shown an impressive development the last two years, and we look forward to further strengthen our market position in the UK together going forward.
“Jablite’s operations will also complement the UK based operations of Jackon very well, so we see a great potential for synergies by combining the two entities as soon as the Jackon transaction is completed.”

The current management of Jablite, including maaging director Richard Lee and finance director John Cooper will continue in their roles. Rik Dobbelaere, previous CEO of Synbra Holding and BEWiSynbra Group, and director of the board of BEWI ASA, has been director of the board of Jablite since BEWI’s acquisition of the 49 per cent stake in 2020.

The total consideration for the remaining 51 per cent of Jablite is £10 million and will be settled in cash.

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