diff --git a/lib/manager/gradle/shallow/parser.ts b/lib/manager/gradle/shallow/parser.ts
index 740db1475ad26585e35320873219060eb33ee545..6392a898c4ef450ba421aba8ecf025e59e19c0ed 100644
--- a/lib/manager/gradle/shallow/parser.ts
+++ b/lib/manager/gradle/shallow/parser.ts
@@ -245,7 +245,10 @@ function processPlugin({
         const currentValue = varData.value;
         const fileReplacePosition = varData.fileReplacePosition;
         dep.currentValue = currentValue;
-        dep.managerData = { fileReplacePosition, packageFile };
+        dep.managerData = {
+          fileReplacePosition,
+          packageFile: varData.packageFile,
+        };
       } else {
         const currentValue = child.value;
         const fileReplacePosition = child.offset;