6 | UK News
Flurry of acquisitions bring further consolidation in UK timber sector
Above left: The Taylormade Timber Products site in Durham Above right: RGB Building Supplies’ Barnstable site – the company has been acquired by Grant & Stone
A flurry of acquisitions was announced at the beginning of March in the UK timber and building products sector, led by sawmiller James Jones & Sons Ltd’s takeover of GT Timber Ltd.
There was also activity by Cairngorm Capital Partners, whose Grant & Stone Group completed three acquisitions including the 22-branch south-west-based RGB Building Supplies.
The move gives Grant & Stone a combined £250m turnover, making it the largest independent builders’ merchant group in southern England.
Another Cairngorm Capital entity – the National Timber Group (NTG) acquired Stoke-on-Trent based Hymor Timber, while Kullik & Rullmann AG (K&R) has acquired UK-based Quay Timber Ltd in a move that accelerates development of the group’s online business.
The James Jones acquisition of holding company GT Timber sees it acquire Taylormade Timber Products Ltd and Kerr Timber Products Ltd, which operate sawmills at Sherburn Hill, Durham and Annan respectively, processing a combined 370,000 tons of softwood saw logs annually.
The acquisition will increase James Jones & Sons’ annual sawn output to 800,000m3 thereby consolidating its position as the UK’s largest privately owned sawmill, timber engineering and pallet manufacturing company. “We are delighted to have concluded this transaction,” commented Tom Bruce- Jones, chairman of James Jones & Sons,
TTJ | March/April 2021 |
www.ttjonline.com
“and are really pleased that the existing management team are staying on within the enlarged group to provide continuity, facilitate the integration and to help realise our long-term strategic plans. “The sawn output from both mills will complement our portfolio and will allow us to offer increased product opportunities for our existing, and newly expanded, customer base.” Jilly Wentworth, managing director of GT Timber Ltd, said James Jones’ extensive timber industry experience and financial strength would allow GT’s investment programme to reach a successful conclusion.
The combined group will now operate eight sawlines and employ 1,225 people. Taylormade Timber Products and Kerr Timber Products will retain their names for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Grant & Stone Group not only acquired RGB Building Supplies (founded in 1850), but also Buildit Gloster and Total Plumbing Supplies. The new enlarged group will have 74 branches stretching from west London to Cornwall, and over 1,000 employees. RGB has 22 branches, employs over 300 people and in 2020 achieved revenues of £70m, while High Wycombe-based Grant & Stone itself had revenues of £140m in 2020.
Buildit Gloster Ltd is a three-branch builders’ merchant serving Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
The expansion follows recent takeovers of Buckinghamshire-based 3Counties
(in September, 2020) and CRS Building Supplies, a 12-branch builders’ merchant in Somerset, (in January, 2021). Cairngorm-owned National Timber Group (NTG) also acquired Hymor Timber Ltd, a £4.5m annual turnover timber merchant located in Stoke-on-Trent. Hymor Timber has a strength in hardwoods and modified timber, extensive processing capability and an expertise in meeting bespoke client requirements. Hymor Timber fills a geographic gap in NTG’s existing branch network and creates an additional hardwood centre of excellence, serving the Midlands and the north-west.
It complements the product offering of NTG’s specialist hardwood depot in Hull that serves Yorkshire and the Humber. Leading timber agent Kullik & Rullmann
AG (K&R) has also been busy with the acquisition of Newcastle-based Quay Timber Ltd in a move that accelerates development of the group’s online business. The acquisition also brings synergy with K&R’s UK subsidiary Gill & Robinson Ltd.
Quay Timber has more than 4,000m2 of
warehouse space coupled with strong local demand. It will benefit from additional purchasing facilities and an expansion of the range of products offered. The Kullik Group and its suppliers will benefit from enhanced storage facilities, with Newcastle complementing existing stocks in Hull and Shoreham. K&R plans to merge the sites of Quay Timber and Gill & Robinson Ltd.
UK News
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