“We have now agreed to lease the former NTS Sheffield site and will be re-employing former staff and re-commissioning the factory as soon as we can.” explained Terry. “We saw that National Timber Systems has a distinct offer in the construction sector, with a very strong brand which was not affected in the same way as NTG was.” explained Mr Edgell. “So, we will retain the NTS name and build on it.”


In turnover terms, Premier Forest recorded sales of £102m in their 2024-25 financial year, with £130m expected in 2025-26. The combination of NTS (approx. £40m turnover) and the three NTG sites acquired will add a further £80m of turnover, giving Premier Forest a £200m+ turnover for 2026. With recruitment campaigns ongoing to get the acquisitions fully staffed, Premier Forest will have taken on about 300 extra staff through the acquisitions, giving it about 800 staff overall.


“The three NTG sites are big sites and perfect from a geographic perspective. They are also large enough to develop and diversify. They are going to need a huge amount of investment, so it’s not going to be easy. They are blank canvases to a certain extent, so there will be investment in the value-added areas that Premier Forest is focused on these days.” “We now have 25 sites across the UK,” Mr Edgell added. “We really have re-engineered the Premier Forest organisation. In the past we were a sheet materials specialist distributor but now we cut across every major wood commodity and every value-added service. “We are constantly striving for anything that gives us a value-added proposition for our customers, trying to be more than purely a timber distribution company. We are now split pretty much evenly between distribution and manufacturing. “We like to think of ourselves as quite unique in what we do. That’s why it meant so much when we won the overall TTJ Timber Trader of the Year Award in 2025 - we are strong across the key categories of hardwoods, softwoods, sheet materials and joinery products.”


PRIVATE EQUITY V INDEPENDENT OWNERSHIP


“I think there is a difference between private equity and timber owners such as us. “We are not affected so much by decisions based on short-term forecasts and activity. We can afford to looked beyond these and the long-term future and indeed next generation.


“It’s sad that the Arnold Laver name has gone. If you stand back and look at the last 40 years of the timber trade, a huge number of companies have disappeared. And it’s not all related to private equity. It’s the ebb and


Above: NTS Supplies Pre-Fabricated Timber Solutions flow of the timber trade.


“The difficulty with private equity ownership is the high interest rates and the typical level of leverage in those acquisitions. “It has put those businesses under a lot of pressure. Maybe, it’s the time of the independents again.”


Mr Edgell said the three NTG sites acquired had experienced difficulties ultimately due to the debt pressure in the business. “And when you have no profit coming through because of a difficult trading period it only goes one way - investment stops and staff numbers are cut.


“The thing that protected us [during this period] is we were diversified; we had more value-added arenas to trade in.


“With our structured financial instruments, our own cash, and a strong balance sheet, if there are other opportunities in the sector, we will be looking at those as well.” Premier Forest believes it will take time to gain the full benefit of its acquisitions but is optimistic they will improve the Group’s financial performance.


Premier Forest sees a lot of potential for


market share growth in the sites acquired. “NTG was a £350m turnover company three years ago. We acquired about £80m of that from the site footprints we acquired, so there are still a lot of sales that can be absorbed by the market.


“In addition, we’re not just looking at the business coming in at Hull, Manchester and Reading, it’s the business that could flow into those branches and other existing Premier Forest operations from the other NTG sites that closed.”


PEOPLE FOCUS


Mr Edgell believes valuing people is key to business.


“It’s all about people,” he said. “In this acquisition process, we saved a lot of people’s


jobs. We wanted to give certainty before Christmas to all those staff members because there was so much stress among them. They were seeing good people lose their jobs and uncertainty about a takeover deal. We gave certainty to those individuals that they were safe, their salaries were being paid, and they had jobs to go back to after Christmas. “That’s what Premier Forest does. We think about the people before we think about the profit. It was the right thing to do, and we made a lot of people happy. As a result we have engaged and motivated staff who are glad to be part of the Premier Forest family now. It shows the measure of the organisation.”


Mr Edgell describes himself as an optimist whose glass is always half full. He believes better business times must be coming. “With the interest rate reduction in December and probably another one coming by April, there has got be a natural improvement in housebuilding. There are going to be some major governmental projects over the next 18-24 months. We hope these can give us a period of natural organic growth.


“The industry has seen a period of consolidation, with capacity reductions following business closures and restructuring. At the same time, employment costs have increased while demand and pricing have remained under pressure.


“Even modest improvements across these dynamics would be positive for the sector and should begin to support more sustainable margins over time.”


Premier Forest’s move has for sure been a central talking point in the industry and represents part of a re-shaping and consolidation process going on. Industry analysts expect further market positioning in the months ahead, with hopes that trade can improve as the year progresses.


www.ttjonline.com | Spring 2026 | TTJ


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