39 (33=) Shiraz Dharamshi Tejani and family (£105m) £100m
Shiraz Tejani’s LPC Group is expanding fast. The group - the UK’s largest independent manufacturer of tissue-based products has acquired mills in Belgium and France, and is planning new manufacturing plants in Germany and Spain as well as expansion of its Swedish an UK operations.
In June, LPC bought the highly efficient Duffel Mill in Belgium - along with its workforce - from Kimberley-Clarke. Last February LPC acquired the Roanne paper mill in the south of France. This mill was in danger of closing before LPC stepped in with a multi-million deal.
The Roanne plant will work with LPC’s tissue plant in Kisa, Sweden, and between them they will form the biggest specialist tissue-producing operation in the world.
LPC’s £40 million UK factory turns out 600 million toilet rolls and kitchen rolls a year.
Shiraz Tejani set up the LPC group in Leicester with his brothers in 1980, originally to supply local shops with tissues and paper products. Now it turns over more than £200 million a year.
The group includes LPC (UK), Kamns Paper Mill, Kilbagie Recycled Fibres, LPC Away From Home Division, and Swedish Tissues AB.
LPC (UK) and Kamns Paper Mill operate from purpose built factories in Leicester with over a million square feet. Kilbagie Recycled Fibres, acquired by LPC in 2002, is a paper recycling plant based in Scotland. LPC AFH Division, based in Redditch, produces disposable hygiene products, while Swedish Tissue its mill in Kisa.
The company is making substantial inroads into the European and Scandinavian markets. The factories turn out toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, disposable nappies and face tissues, as well as paper recycling.
LPC’s newest state-of-the-art factory employs 250 people at Rothley Lodge in north Leicestershire. It uses the very latest technology for paper milling, converting and manufacturing and includes a distribution hub, and supports the company’s ambitious international expansion programme.
Shiraz, aged 59, has now retired from the company and taken the honorary position of group president, while his brother Amin is executive chairman.
In September LPC scooped gold in the Co-operative Retail Trading Group awards in recognition of its part in getting the Co-op’s 29-line tissue range fully endorsed by the Forestry Stewardship Council. It was the first household paper range to get this ethical retailing accolade.
The Tejani family also has property interests which add to the wealth generated by their paper business.
