Wincanton, a leading supply chain partner for UK business, has agreed to acquire 100% of the shares in Caledonia Bidco Limited, the holding company of Cygnia Logistics Limited (“Cygnia”), a specialist mid-market eCommerce and multichannel eFulfilment provider, from Crescent Capital.
Founded in 1990, Cygnia has become one of the UK’s principal providers of supply-chain services and solutions to high-profile consumer-facing brands such as BrewDog, Moonpig, Molton Brown, Revolution Beauty, Whittard of Chelsea and Feelunique. Cygnia is a specialist in eCommerce fulfilment with expertise spanning the full breadth of their customers’ requirements, including high-volume order fulfilment, returns and carrier management services. The Company has approximately 700 employees operating from four sites across the UK.
This acquisition is in line with Wincanton’s strategic focus on eCommerce and represents the Group’s latest investment in its growing Digital and eFulfilment business division. It follows the Group’s investment earlier in 2021 in its state-of-the-art, automated eFulfilment facility in Rockingham, Northamptonshire, to create additional capacity to drive growth.
Cygnia will continue to operate as a brand within the broader Wincanton Group, enabling the combined business to leverage Cygnia’s reputation as a mid-market multichannel fulfilment provider, alongside Wincanton’s reputation in eCommerce supply chain services. The acquisition will provide Cygnia with access to Wincanton’s scale and expertise, including the Rockingham facility, which will enable it to accelerate the pace of its growth. Cygnia’s highly complementary offering will also provide Wincanton with access to exciting new growth opportunities in the mid-market sector.
Wincanton identified eCommerce as a key growth market and an area of strategic focus for the business. This transaction will significantly enhance the Group’s eCommerce capabilities, and the addition of Cygnia’s highly complementary offer will provide Wincanton access to exciting growth opportunities in the mid-market sector. Cygnia will join Wincanton’s Digital & eFulfilment business division.
Separately, Wincanton is appointing Carl Moore as MD of Digital and eFulfilment. Carl, who will take up his new role in January 2022, has spent the last 13 years in a range of senior roles with Clipper Logistics, most recently as Chief Commercial Officer.
James Wroath, CEO of Wincanton, said:
"This acquisition is a significant step forward for our eCommerce proposition and I am delighted to welcome our new colleagues at Cygnia. This is a business with a fantastic reputation for supporting many of the UK’s most successful brands, underpinned by a focus on operational excellence which will complement Wincanton’s customer-focused approach. The transaction is perfectly aligned with our strategy to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the shift to online retail and will position us well to benefit from many of the changes we are seeing in the broader logistics sector. Wincanton has long been a leader in supporting many of the UK’s biggest brands and now, together with Cygnia, we will be able to further extend our reach to fast-growing, mid-market eCommerce customers.”
Glenn Lindfield, CEO of Cygnia, said:
“We’re thrilled to be joining Wincanton, one of the UK’s leading supply chain specialists, so that we can continue to build on our partnerships with customers in the growing mid-market eCommerce market. This transaction brings together the scale and supply chain expertise of Wincanton with the agility and flexibility of the Cygnia business and will enable us to grow at pace in this important market.”
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Wincanton Plc Tel: +44 12 4971 0000
Tim Lawlor, Chief Financial Officer
Headland Tel: +44 20 3805 4822
Susanna Voyle/Henry Wallers/ Marta Parry-Jones