Bullet underlined its ambitions after increasing its profitability in the 12 months since Mr McKail led a group of investors from Panoramic Growth Equity, Maven Capital Partners, and Emerald Capital to acquire the company in October 2023, some 34 years after it was established.
The buy-and-build deal is designed to take the business “to the next level”. A new senior leadership team, assembled through external hires and internal appointments, was brought in further to the buyout. As well as Mr McKail, the team includes head of finance Alan Millar, commercial director Martin Craghill, storage and logistics director Wesley Riggins, and director of transport operations Willie Herron.
Prior to the deal, Mr McKail had previously spent four years building Bullet as managing director. The most up to date accounts available for the company show it made a profit before tax of £1.033 million for the year ended March 31, 2023, up from £761,240, as turnover increased to £19.1m from £18.8m.
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Mr McKail said: “It’s been quite a year – we’ve packed a lot in and made tremendous progress against our plan. It is a team game, and I have one of the best teams in the sector, from warehousing people, drivers and support personnel, through to the new senior management team. I am very proud of the progress we’re making and there is so much more to come.
“We’ve focused firmly on a number of priority growth areas, and everything is now geared towards making the most of those.”
Mr McKail added: “The first year since the investment has been about positioning the business for the next levels of growth. We are a contract-backed business, partnering with some of the most recognisable brands, forging long-term, sustainable relationships. We have a plan for M&A with some targeted developments. The expertise and support from our private equity board colleagues is proving to be of real value.
“I feel incredibly privileged to be in a position to lead the charge to take Bullet Express to the next level – we are building something quite special, with a very engaged team. It’s very much onwards and upwards.”
Bullet processes around 250,000 of pallets per year from its hub in Bothwell, which allows it to serve “every post code” in Scotland, England, Wales, and Ireland. It serves clients in a range of sectors, including aviation, fast-moving consumer goods, retail, electrical manufacturing, and construction.
The firm highlighted the importance of securing an excise movement guarantee a month after the buyout, which it said provides financial security for excise goods moving within the UK or between the European Union and Northern Ireland. This was driven by customer demand for imports and exports of beer, wine, and spirits, and has helped the company move into new international markets such as Chile and Argentina, as well as Italy, France, and Spain closer to home.
Bullet noted that it had also opened a new bonded warehouse in September to provide full, end-to-end logistics requirements for this growing base of clients.
Mr McKail added: “This is a great example of organic growth across the range of Bullet services. We historically stored and transported packaging, labels, bottles and cans, and we’re now getting involved in the movement of excise liquids. The wet-bond volumes are accommodated within our existing infrastructure of warehouses and trucks. This is a natural evolution, giving our customers a wider range of services, whilst investing in an exciting new growth enterprise for our business.”
Bullet operates shared user storage centres at Baillieston, Glasgow and Westway Park at Glasgow Airport. With 34,000 pallets under management, receiving and pick operations are supported by both network and contract fleets, this business is also backed by customer contracts.
Mr McKail said: “These contracts provide long-term stability for our customers and our people, and represent a great endorsement of the high levels of added-value services and partnerships that key clients are prepared to invest in.”
