Packaging firm sold to overseas buyer

Birmingham packaging specialist Jaffabox  has been sold to the German packaging giant, Schumacher Packaging, for an undisclosed sum.

Brothers Frank and John Amyes have overseen the substantial growth of Jaffabox over the past 40 years, which operates from a 120,000 square foot state of the art production facility near to the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham.

The business was recently recognised as Packaging Company of the Year at the UK Packaging Awards and is widely recognised as one of the leading box manufacturing plants in the UK.

Schumacher Packaging Group is one of the largest family-owned organisations operating in the packaging sector turning over €627 million in 2018. With a similar heritage to Jaffabox, the company was founded in 1948 and currently operates from 29 locations across Germany, Poland, England, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands.

Björn Schumacher, managing director of the Schumacher Packaging Group, said: "Jaffabox offers immense potential which we will be able to perfectly fulfil together in our group of companies. The primary aim of our expansion is not to gain market shares. What we really want to achieve is to offer existing customers even more products and services and fulfil our promise of being a full-service provider as best we can."

Richard Griffiths, head of corporate at Higgs & Sons who led the sellers’ legal team, said: "It has been fantastic to support John and Frank with the legal aspects of the sales process. The complex, cross-border deal structure necessitated input from various specialists from across the firm, including the corporate, tax, employment and property teams. It is always rewarding to see the team pull together and deliver a successful result for our clients.”

Frank Amyes, one of two Jaffabox managing directors, said: "We are very happy to have become part of the Schumacher Packaging family. In this way, we are making sure that we can continue the same level of service and product quality that our customers have come to expect from us. In addition, we will be able to offer them the expanded product range and European presence of Schumacher Packaging."

Jaffabox will continue to be managed by the Amyes family, but with the added benefit to customers of access to the comprehensive product range and full-service offer of the international Schumacher Packaging Group.

The Higgs & Sons advisory team comprised Richard Griffiths (corporate), Nathan Gray (corporate), Johnathan Hunter (tax), Amy Brokenshire (employment) and Jen Hicks-Jones (property). Mark Wilson from Headpoint Advisors led on all corporate finance advice and Adele Raiment and Richard Tidball from Mazars provided tax advice to the sellers.

Pictured: From left, Alex Kauffman (Fladgate LLP), Richard Griffiths (Higgs & Sons), John Amyes (Jaffabox), Martin Wedel and Bjorn Schumacher (Schumacher Packaging), Leander Ots (Headpoint Advisers), Frank Amyes and Annette Amyes (Jaffabox), Mark Wilson (Headpoint Advisers), and Carla Lee (Higgs & Sons)