What Accrol Papers does

Accrol Papers operates as Navigator Tissue UK, a UK-based value tissue manufacturer and brand owner. It produces everyday toilet roll, kitchen roll, cleansing wipes and facial tissues, supplied to UK grocery, discounter and value retailers under retailer-owned private-label brands and under Navigator's owned consumer brands. The business runs an integrated, multi-site UK converting footprint spanning five sites: Leyland, Blackburn and Leicester (legacy Accrol Papers operations), Flint (John Dale Ltd) and Bridgwater (Severn Delta), which collectively support a single-supplier, multi-category private-label proposition. The stated mission is to deliver acceptable quality at value price points to challenge premium branded incumbents on UK shelves.

The business is a wholly-owned UK private limited subsidiary of The Navigator Company, a Portuguese pulp and tissue group. It monetises through B2B unit-pricing contracts with retailers, with quote-based, per-SKU pricing and no public price list; consumer shelf prices are set by retail customers. GTM is sales-led and channel-led: products reach end consumers indirectly through retailer customers, supported by an employer-brand and ESG policy suite (PEFC Commitment, Human Rights Policy, Modern Slavery Statement, Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy) used to satisfy UK grocery procurement requirements. The corporate identity has been transitioned from Accrol Papers to Navigator Tissue UK Ltd, while the legacy accrol.co.uk domain is retained on the careers subdomain and in third-party map listings. The company was previously listed on the LSE (ticker ACRL) and is no longer public following the change of control; no current public revenue or cap-table disclosure is available.

Name

Accrol Papers

Legal name

Navigator Tissue UK Ltd

Website

https://accrol.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Accrol Papers, now Navigator Tissue UK, is a UK-based value tissue manufacturer producing toilet roll, kitchen roll, wipes and facial tissues across five UK sites for retailer private-label and own-brand supply. It is a subsidiary of Portugal's The Navigator Company.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Lancaster

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Private-label / own-brand tissue manufacturing and supply: Core revenue stream: manufacturing and supplying everyday tissue, household and personal hygiene products (toilet roll, kitchen roll, cleansing wipes, facial tissues) to UK retailers under retailer-owned private-label brands and Navigator-owned consumer brands. Recurring, volume-based B2B supply contracts with grocery and value retailers across the UK.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Accrol Papers, now operating as Navigator Tissue UK, manufactures and supplies everyday tissue, household and personal hygiene products — toilet roll, kitchen roll, cleansing wipes and facial tissues — to UK retailers under retailer-owned private-label brands and the company's own Navigator consumer brands. Production runs across five UK sites (Leyland, Blackburn, Leicester, Flint, Bridgwater), with the business positioning itself on value pricing versus premium branded incumbents.

Product overview

Accrol Papers, now operating as Navigator Tissue UK, is a UK value tissue manufacturer and brand owner offering a single product category — everyday tissue, household and personal hygiene essentials — delivered through a portfolio of owned brands rather than a software platform. The offering is organised as a unified consumer goods range (toilet roll, kitchen roll, cleansing wipes, facial tissues) supplied to UK retailers under the Navigator Tissue UK / Accrol Papers umbrella, with no modular software, API, or digital product layer in scope.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Toilet Roll Essential everyday toilet tissue product manufactured as part of Navigator Tissue UK's value tissue portfolio and supplied to UK retailers under the company's owned brands.
• Kitchen Roll Household kitchen paper towel product manufactured as part of Navigator Tissue UK's value tissue portfolio and supplied to UK retailers under the company's owned brands.
• Cleansing Wipes Personal hygiene cleansing wipes manufactured as part of Navigator Tissue UK's value tissue portfolio and supplied to UK retailers under the company's owned brands.
• Facial Tissues Facial tissue products manufactured as part of Navigator Tissue UK's value tissue portfolio and supplied to UK retailers under the company's owned brands.
• Navigator Tissue UK Brands Portfolio (Private-Label and Owned Consumer Brands) Portfolio of owned consumer tissue brands covering toilet roll, kitchen roll, cleansing wipes and facial tissues, supplied to UK retailers under retailer-owned private-label brands and Navigator-owned consumer brands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Positioned as the UK's leading value-tissue supplier across five manufacturing sites.
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• The Navigator CompanyflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Navigator Company is the Portuguese parent / group of Navigator Tissue UK. Navigator Tissue UK is the UK tissue arm, focused on 'redefining value in tissue products' for UK consumers. The group includes The Navigator Company's wider pulp and tissue operations referenced from the UK site's main navigation. This is a corporate parent / group-level relationship providing strategic, capital and supply-chain backing to the UK business.
• John Dale Ltd (Flint)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJohn Dale Ltd, Flint, is operated as part of the group's UK locations footprint, alongside Accrol Papers Leyland, Accrol Papers Ltd Blackburn, Accrol Papers Ltd Leicester, and Severn Delta Bridgwater. The site appears under the Navigator Tissue UK careers site locations list, indicating group-level integration.
• Severn Delta (Bridgwater)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSevern Delta, Bridgwater is operated as part of the group's UK locations footprint, listed alongside the Accrol Papers sites (Leyland, Blackburn, Leicester) and John Dale Ltd (Flint) on the Navigator Tissue UK careers site.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Paladone: Smaller UK-based consumer goods producer with adjacent grocery-channel exposure. While not a direct tissue peer, it illustrates the broader UK private-label/consumer goods ecosystem in which Navigator Tissue UK competes for shelf space.

Direct peers

• Cascades Tissue Group: North-American headquartered tissue manufacturer with European operations supplying private-label tissue to UK and European retailers. Comparable business model and customer base to Navigator Tissue UK, with overlapping private-label programmes.
• Lucart UK: Italian integrated tissue manufacturer with private-label and own-brand offerings exported across Europe, including the UK. Highly comparable to Navigator Tissue UK as a continental European mill supplying UK private-label programmes via imports, against which Navigator competes domestically.
• WEPA Industrie GmbH: European family-owned tissue manufacturer with significant private-label and AFH business across the UK and continental Europe. Directly competes with Navigator Tissue UK for UK retailer private-label contracts from a similar cost-positioned base.
• Sofidel UK: Italian tissue producer (Regina, Nicky brands) supplying UK private-label and branded tissue. Competes head-to-head with Navigator Tissue UK in the UK value and mid-tier tissue segment and is one of the continental European mills cited in the import-dependence data.
• Northwood Hygiene Sales: UK-based tissue converter and AFH/private-label supplier. A domestic peer of similar size and channel focus to Navigator Tissue UK, operating across consumer and away-from-home tissue categories in the UK market.

Broad incumbents

• Kimberly-Clark (UK operations): Global manufacturer of Andrex, Kleenex and Scott tissue brands. Direct competitor in the UK toilet/kitchen roll market where Navigator Tissue UK explicitly aims to displace Andrex/Plenty/Scott, but operates as a global multi-category incumbent versus Navigator Tissue UK's UK-only value focus.
• SCA / Essity UK: European integrated tissue manufacturer behind brands such as Velvet and Tork. Both companies serve UK grocery private-label and away-from-home channels, but Essity is a much larger pan-European producer with broader brand and AFH portfolios.
• Procter & Gamble (P&G) UK (Charmin): Owner of Charmin and other premium bathroom tissue brands. Competes for UK tissue shelf space at the premium end of the category that Navigator Tissue UK's value positioning targets to disrupt.

Others

• Continental Buying Group: UK buying group representing independent retailers and wholesalers for sourcing grocery and household categories including tissue. A channel-side comparable relevant to Navigator Tissue UK's private-label go-to-market via non-grocer retailers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accrol-papers-ltd

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Accrol Papers