Waterland Ireland, one of Europe’s leading independent investment firms, has partnered with Primeline Group, Ireland’s largest independent provider of supply chain, logistics, sales and marketing services, to support the next phase of the company’s growth strategy.

The company plans to grow revenues to more than €500 million over the next five years through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, while increasing its workforce by 500 to approximately 2,000 employees.

Headquartered in Ashbourne, Co. Meath, Primeline has over 35 years’ experience providing end-to-end supply chain, logistics, sales and marketing services to leading homegrown and

international brands and retailers across Ireland, the UK and Europe.  The company has grown to become the market leader in its sector, generating annual revenues of €300 million.

Every week, Primeline delivers more than 1.6 million cases, completes over 25,000 deliveries to more than 7,500 retailers, through a fleet of over 400 vehicles, and helping some of the world’s leading consumer brands reach customers across Ireland and the UK.

The Waterland partnership will support the next phase of Primeline’s growth strategy, enabling the business to accelerate expansion across Ireland and the UK, pursue strategic acquisitions and continue investing in its people, technology and customer offering.

Laura Dillon, Partner at Waterland Ireland, said: “Primeline is an outstanding Irish business with a market-leading position, an exceptional management team and an impressive 35-year track record of delivering best-in-class supply chain, logistics, sales and marketing solutions. The scale of the business is impressive, with more than 25,000 deliveries every week reaching over 7,500 retailers across Ireland, underpinned by long standing relationships with many of the world’s leading consumer brands.  We are delighted to partner with the Primeline team to support the next phase of the company’s growth. Together, we see significant opportunities to expand both organically and through strategic acquisitions as the business continues to strengthen its position across Ireland and the UK.”

Primeline Group CEO Pamela Quinn, together with principal shareholders Danny Geoghegan and Tim Cummins, will continue to lead Primeline alongside the existing management team.  Backed by Waterland’s strategic and financial support, the company is well positioned to accelerate its next phase of growth and capitalise on consolidation opportunities across the highly fragmented supply chain, logistics and route-to-market sectors.

Pamela Quinn, Group CEO of Primeline, said: “This partnership represents a significant opportunity for our people, customers and brand partners. We remain focused on delivering operational excellence every day while continuing to invest in innovation, technology and our talented team. With Waterland’s support, we are well positioned to strengthen our market-leading capabilities, continue attracting exceptional people and build on the strong relationships that have underpinned Primeline’s success for more than three decades.”

Danny Geoghegan, Founder and Co-Chairman of Primeline Group, added: “Over the past 35 years, we’ve built Primeline by developing long-term partnerships with our customers and continually investing in our people, capabilities and infrastructure. As the business has grown, we’ve remained focused on delivering exceptional service and helping some of the world’s leading brands succeed in the Irish and UK marketplace.  Waterland shares our long-term vision for Primeline and has an excellent track record of supporting ambitious businesses through their next phase of growth. This partnership gives us the resources and expertise to accelerate our expansion, strengthen our presence in the UK and beyond and pursue strategic acquisition opportunities while remaining true to the values that have underpinned our success.”

Tim Cummins, Co-Chairman of Primeline Group, added: “This is an important milestone for Primeline and a strong endorsement of the business our team has built.  Waterland brings the experience, ambition and international perspective to help us scale further, while continuing to deliver the service, reliability and partnership our customers expect from us every day.”

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals.

About Waterland

Waterland is an independent European investment firm that supports entrepreneurs in achieving their growth ambitions. Waterland currently manages more than €20 billion under management. Since its founding in 1999, Waterland has grown into an organisation of more than 200 professionals, operating from 11 offices across 9 countries. For more information, please visit https://www.waterlandpe.com/