On a fully comparable basis, the land and building costs in the location that we have chosen are expected to be c.50% lower than originally announced. Some of the most extensive changes at Accrol were implemented in the manufacturing process. Over the last 12 months, large investments have been made in improving existing equipment, and more notably into the introduction of robotic technology and full automation of the company’s operations. Strengthening our senior leadership was another priority and this has extended beyond the Board. Since 2018 and the initial appointments of Gareth Jenkins as CEO and Dan Wright as Executive Chairman, we have appointed a new Managing Director and Operations Director of the Tissue Division. We have also added depth and experience to our financial management teams. Innovation is key at Accrol, and the company’s latest development is a ‘super-soft’ tissue that fits into the firm’s mid-tier ‘better’ category. Launched just before Christmas, the product was produced in partnership with two major retailers, as well as a tissue manufacturer that has worked with the company for the last 12 years. Only available in the UK, the tissue is very close in softness to branded products and has been immensely successful since its release. It marks yet another victory for Accrol’s product innovation department. Just over a year after flotation, the company appointed a new CEO, Gareth Jenkins. Gareth conducted an early review of the business, and, just weeks after his appointment, Accrol announced that it was facing a number of challenges which were placing significant financial pressure on the business. Trading in the company’s shares was suspended, while funds were raised to enable the business to survive.

However, Accrol is one of the largest businesses in Lancashire and has been expanding significantly over the last few years. It's likely that we have all seen Accrol's products in the likes of Tesco, Aldi, Morrisons, Bookers and Wilko's but you might be unfamiliar with the brand itself.Oceans is a plastic-free toilet tissue for which we will be donating part of our profits to the MCS,” Graham comments. “You can buy the product online, so it’s direct to consumer. It goes straight from manufacture at Accrol to a local distributor, and from there it goes straight into people’s homes reducing road miles by avoiding retailers RDC’s. It is 100 per cent recyclable and there is zero plastic in the product.

Our vision is to deliver the best possible value to the UK consumer on essential everyday tissue products. We are shaking up traditional tissue brands by delivering the quality the consumer wants for the price they want to pay. FY23/24 cash generation will be "quite profound" as capex on automation is complete and debt should fall rapidly. Debt guidance may be in the YE update or we may have to wait for the full update later in the year.At the time when the current Board was constituted, Accrol faced multiple challenges, some of which had been self-inflicted. From the outset, the priority of the Board has been to:

The other thing in our favour,” Graham adds, “is our ability to source the best tissue from around the world. This means that when a new machine or technology is laid out, wherever it is globally, we can go out and source the very best materials and bring them together in a combination that will deliver the highest quality products and best value for our customer and the consumer.” Unlike the situation we found in 2017, Accrol enters 2023 in a strong position with no fixed price agreements in place and instead a range of index linked supply agreements that have substantially de-risked our margins. As we announced in our recent half year trading update and confirmed in the Half Year Results announcement today, we have managed to recover all the additional input costs incurred in 2022. Price rises in a cost-conscious industry are not easy to deliver rapidly. They can only be achieved in partnership with our retail customers and only when our retail partners understand and value our proposition.With the support of our shareholders, bank (HSBC), and people, the business has been transformed and we are delighted with the progress made across all of these areas.

A direct-to-consumer business of scale, based around the Oceans brand, suppling a range of plastic-free household products; and Leicester Tissue Company supplies to more than 27 countries, and specialises in paper making and converting paper reels into a variety of tissue-based products. Who owns Accrol Group?The ‘Paperchase exclusively for Tesco’ collection features four ranges including Rainbow, Pastel Ombre, Artful Scribbles and Confetti across items such as notepads, pens, highlighters, washi tapes and gift wrap. Even prior to the war in Ukraine, the UK has seen a long-term trend of energy cost inflation, rising from an average of 8p per KW/Hr in 2011 to 14p in 2021 and, subsequent to the war, in excess of 60p. Government support measures notwithstanding, it is widely reported that UK energy prices are likely to remain elevated over historic averages over the longer term. Against this context, the energy price outlook for the planned mill is compelling. We have secured visibility over energy costs that are materially lower than those described above. In addition, we envisage that solar PV capacity will be installed at the mill, accounting for up to 30% of its energy requirement.