Out of the box: Kite Packaging’s unique vision

Kite Packaging’s unique vision.

Kite Packaging was founded in 2001 with a unique vision: to be the premier packaging supplier in the UK with a philosophy of employee ownership, and the belief that ‘customer satisfaction matters so much more when you own the business’.

Since then, Kite has grown quickly, and today is one of the UK’s largest distributors of bespoke and standard packaging solutions. Last year (2021), Kite turned over £141 million.

Its seven regional distribution centers – in Coventry in the Midlands, as well as in Portsmouth, Swindon, Sittingbourne, Letchworth, Rotherham and Gateshead – is each fully integrated into its national and international supply chain. Kite has thousands of customers, from individuals placing a one-off order, to businesses buying large quantities of added value, engineered packaging solutions

E-commerce

Kite caters to its small and medium sized business customers by supplying stock product and packaging equipment via its ecommerce website, which focuses on a fully stocked range of standard packing products available on next day delivery.

Shared ownership

The company’s Managing Partner Gavin Ashe says that alongside its flexible solutions, excellent customer service, and vast quality product range, much of Kite’s success lies in its employee shared-ownership structure, which means each of its current 400 staff share in the benefits that come from Kite’s great service:

“Kite’s unique strength and the ability to grow comes from its founding principle of being powered by employee share-ownership,” he says.

“Everyone who works at Kite is actively encouraged to become a shareholder in the business, and this has allowed us to let a great many people partake in the wealth creation process throughout the last 21 years.

“Kite’s vision is to do a great job for customers, a great job for suppliers, and a great job for our employee partners. It’s as simple as that. If we do these three things well, we will continue to grow.”

Puma Park

Earlier this year (2022), Kite moved its Coventry operation to a new site at Puma Park, which has been the location of its Midlands hub for the last 21 years.

“This is not a new location for Kite, it is where we have been based since day one. Around 200 people will work at the new site where we continue to provide packaging distribution,” Gavin explains.

“We simply needed more space for our people and our clients. The expansion into Puma Park gives us this, with around 400,000 square feet in Coventry.”

Time critical

Lodders’ Mark Miller, head of the firm’s Real Estate Group, and Donna Bates, Legal Director, Real Estate, provided legal advice to Kite on the lease for the new warehouses.

“The transaction was time critical for Kite because of its pressing need for additional premises, together with the lead times for ordering plant and machinery,” says Donna.

“An agreement for a 15-year lease on each of the total three units Kite needed was entered into during the final construction phase in December 2020. The leases were completed in February 2022 after practical completion of the construction.”

Lodders’ Real Estate group is one of the largest in the West Midlands with more than 30 legal experts in planning, highways, renewable energy, and environmental issues. It is recognised as the only tier one West Midlands firm for commercial property work in the 2022 edition of The Legal 500, the UK’s leading guide to the best law firms and lawyers, highly rates the team, which commends it for ‘its far-reaching capabilities helming a number of nationally significant land and residential development projects’.

This article first published in Issue 8 of our client magazine, Lodders Life. Read this and more features online here.