Yahoo Finance Bunzl's shopping spree hits £600m as revenues keep rising
Bunzl expects revenues for the year to have risen 15pc after pushing its acquisitions in 2017 to a new record.
The FTSE 100 firm, which distributes industrial packaging products to customers across a number of sectors throughout the UK, revealed it had spent £600m buying up smaller companies this year, alongside an announcement that it had bought a UK-based packaging firm called Lightning Packaging.
Bunzl’s spending this year now significantly exceeds its previous high of £327m in 2015.
The company added that trading in 2017 had been consistent with its expectations, and that its revenue had risen due to both organic growth and its purchase of new businesses.
“The ability to consolidate the company's fragmented markets through acquisitions is an important part of the ongoing strategy of Bunzl,” the company said, adding “the pipeline for acquisitions remains active”.
Bunzl, whose products include packaging, catering equipment and safety wear, has become known for its relentless targeting of small, mainly family-run companies to expand its business. Earlier this year it made its first acquisition in China, although chief executive Frank van Zanten ruled out a wider push into the Chinese market.
Shares in the firm were down 1.07pc during the morning's trading to £20.27.
