Mills & Reeve advises on acquisition of leading provider of premium packaging solutions

Headquartered in Shepreth near Cambridge, MW Luxury Packaging offers concept design, engineering, production management and distribution services. Founded in 1998 it is a leading provider of premium packaging solutions to the spirits, beverage and health & beauty industry with operations in the UK, the US, Mexico, China and Hong Kong. 

After combining the businesses, GPA’s strategy is to further strengthen MW Luxury Packaging’s supply chain and distribution capabilities, in addition to continuing to develop the global customer base. GPA Global is backed by the private equity house, EQT Capital. 

Anthony Dowler, the founder of MW Luxury Packaging, who will become a shareholder in GPA and continue to develop the company’s growth strategy, said: “GPA Global offers an exciting business model with strong reputation and credibility across a number of markets. With an extensive sales, design, sourcing, manufacturing and distribution team in Asia, I believe GPA will provide us with the platform to continue to expand our footprint with existing and new clients. We are confident that the partnership will allow the combined business to serve our customers at a whole new level. 

“On a sale that included Chinese purchasers and PE investors, the team at Mills & Reeve gave us straightforward and honest advice that allowed us get to get to grips with the details of the deal. At the initial stage they took time to understand what we wanted to accomplish, as we’d seen an opportunity to help grow our business and Mills & Reeve helped provide the ideal framework to complete the transaction.” 

Anthony McGurk, partner at Mills & Reeve, added: “As a leading player in premium packaging around the world, this deal will allow MW Luxury Packaging to further strengthen its network. It was important for us to make the deal as straightforward as possible so that the business could get on with focusing on the day-to-day operations. We worked closely with Anthony and his team to understand their business objectives and helped them to realise them.”