Cowgills advises on sale of Moorgreen to support DUO UK expansion

Manchester-headquartered packaging manufacturer and distributor DUO UK has announced plans to expand its head office site to 5,000 sq ft with a new extension and installation of a new Erema recycling machine. The company has seen a significant increase in client demand for products using recycled polythene to create more sustainable packaging solutions for customers.

To handle this increase in demand, the business made the decision to sell its partner company Moorgreen Flexible Packaging in Derbyshire to Vickers-Lee Holdings Limited, owners of Cromwell Polythene, and will invest the funds from the sale into the expansion of its site in Manchester to accommodate the new machinery. Accountancy and business advisory firm Cowgills advised Duo on the sale of Moorgreen.

The site extension, which received planning permission from Manchester City Council earlier this year, will enable Duo to streamline operations and improve efficiencies, as well as enhancing staff facilities with break out rooms and a large car park on site.

The installation of the Erema machine will allow Duo to recycle polythene waste on site and will eradicate the requirement for the transportation of waste material to off-site recycling centres, reducing the turnaround time of pellet production to meet the increased demand for products with recycled content.

Anthony Brimelow, commercial director at DUO UK, said: “The environment surrounding plastic has changed in recent years and how a company handles the plastic used and disposes of it is very much a priority. As the industry is heading towards utilising a higher percentage of recycled content and reducing dependency on virgin materials, these decisions are pivotal for our future success. The expansion of our Manchester site has come at the right time for the business and will allow us to respond to our customers’ changing requirements.”

Paul Stringer corporate finance partner at Cowgills, added: “We are delighted to have assisted Duo with the sale of Moorgreen and we wish the new owners every success for the future. The sale and the re-investment in the expansion of Duo’s Manchester site is a testimony to the long range strategic and entrepreneurial vision of the directors and Cowgills are proud of their continued involvement and support of the group.”

The site development is expected to be completed in March 2020. In addition, the company will install another conversion machine and five-layer co-extruder, which allows for more recycled content to be included in the layers of a product without affecting the performance of the product.