Macfarlane Group

Macfarlane Group PLC

Traded as	LSE:  MACF
Industry	Packaging
Founded	1949
Founder	Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden
Headquarters	Glasgow , Scotland
Key people	Aleen Gulvanessian (Chair) Peter Atkinson, (CEO)
Revenue	£270.4 million (2024) [1]
Operating income	£23.6 million (2024) [1]
Net income	£15.5 million (2024) [1]
Number of employees	1,000 (2024) [2]
Website	www.macfarlanegroup.com

Macfarlane Group PLC is a packaging company headquartered in Glasgow, Scotland. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

History

The company was founded by Lord Macfarlane of Bearsden as a commercial stationery company in Bath Street, Glasgow in 1949. ^[3]

The company expanded and was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1973 and then entered the packaging distribution market by acquiring Abbots Packaging in 1980. ^[4]

After a period of growth in the 90s, the business expanded its share of the packaging distribution market by acquiring National Packaging in 2001, ^[5] Network Packaging in 2014 ^[6] and Nelsons for Cartons Packaging in 2016. ^[7] This was followed by Greenwoods Stock Boxes in 2017, ^[8] as well as Tyler Packaging (Leicester) Ltd and Harrison's Packaging Ltd in 2018. ^[9]

The company went on to buy GWP Group, a packaging business based in Wiltshire, in 2021 ^[10] and sold its labels division to Reflex in 2022. ^[11]

The company then cought Suttons, a packaging business based in Cambridgeshire, in 2023. ^[12] Later in 2023, the company bought Barum & Dewar, a company operating in Hampshire and Devon. ^[13] In 2024, it bought Polyformes, a business based in Bedfordshire ^[14] and, in 2025, it bought Pitreave Group, a business operating in Scotland. ^[15]

Divisions

Macfarlane Group has two core divisions: Packaging Distribution and Design & Manufacture. Key market sectors served by the Packaging Distribution Division include eCommerce, third party logistics, manufacturing, retail, industrial, automotive, electronics and aerospace. Key market sectors served by the Design & Manufacture Division include industrial, automotive, defence, aerospace, electronics and medical. ^[16]

References

1. "Annual Results 2024". Macfarlane Group. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
2. "About us". Macfarlane Group. Retrieved 29 February 2024.
3. "Profit rise for packaging company". BBC News. 26 August 2010. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
4. Walker, Peter (5 November 2021). "Tributes paid to Lord Macfarlane". Insider.co.uk. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
5. "Macfarlane buys National Packaging for 27.1m". Printweek. 10 April 2001. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
6. "Network Packaging acquired by Macfarlane Group in £7.5m deal". Business Live. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
7. "Macfarlane continues acquisition strategy with Nelsons buy". Printweek. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
8. "Macfarlane to acquire packaging distributor Greenwoods in £16m deal". Packaging News. 18 September 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
9. "Macfarlane adds to distribution arm with two acquisitions". Packaging News. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
10. "Macfarlane acquires GWP after recording growth in sales and profits". Packaging News. 1 March 2021. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
11. "Macfarlane Group divests labels division to Reflex". Packaging Gateway. 5 January 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
12. "Macfarlane Group acquires Suttons". Printweek. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
13. "Macfarlane Group fully acquires B&D". Packaging Gateway. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
14. "Macfarlane Group acquires Polyformes for up to £11.5 million". Packaging Europe. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
15. "Macfarlane Group acquires Pitreavie". Printweek. 13 January 2025. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
16. "Businesses". Macfarlane Group. Retrieved 18 April 2023.