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Premier adds bespoke staircase manufacturing with acquisition of Stairway Joinery Ltd
Established in 1988 and based in
Westbury, Stairway Joinery designs and manufactures bespoke staircases for residential and commercial buildings. Terry Edgell, co-founder and CEO of Premier Forest Products, described the acquisition of Stairway Joinery as the perfect fit as Premier continued to expand its presence in the south-west of England.
Above: Stairway Joinery Ltd produces residential and commercial staircases
Premier Forest Products has continued on the expansion trail with the acquisition of Wiltshire-based Stairway Joinery Ltd.
“The addition of bespoke staircases to our portfolio of products strategically complements the Premier Forest customer offer, helping us to better serve residential and commercial markets,” he said. “We are confident that the synergies
Confor conference to focus on Green Growth Through Forestry and Wood
Working in partnership with government, Confor has helped secure progress in recent years on a range of activities, from woodland creation to wood use and skills. Now, with a new Labour government and forestry minister, the annual policy conference in London will seek to shine a light on how the new government aims to work with industry over the next five years – on crucial topics including timber security, sustainable house building and rural economic growth.
UK forestry minister Mary Creagh, who Confor’s CEO Stuart Goodall and industry leaders met in Liverpool at the Labour Party conference, has provisionally agreed to be the keynote speaker.
The 2024 conference on December 5 is called Green Growth Through Forestry and Wood and will take place once more at the QEII Centre at Westminster.
Last year’s event saw the launch of the National Wood Strategy for England, following on from the publication of a Timber in Construction Roadmap. Confor believes it is vital to the success of the sector that these key documents continue, and there will be updates on both at the conference, as well as the latest news on a sector skills plan.
Last year there was an expectation that strategies on deer and grey squirrels may soon be published, and the minister will be asked for an update on these.
The conference will also hear from senior representatives from Forestry Commission and the Welsh government, as well as hear an international perspective on forestry and timber from Ross Hampton, executive director of the International Sustainable Forestry Coalition, and Paul Brannen, director of public affairs for the European Confederation of Woodworking Industries (CEI-Bois). Confor is also re-establishing its All-Party Group at Westminster, and hopes to hear from its new chair. “A great deal of vital work has been done in the past few years to promote the industry and highlight the importance of a reliable, sustainable home-grown timber supply for the UK – future timber security has not been given the importance it deserves,” said Stuart Goodall, Confor chief executive.
“Forestry and timber have a significant part to play in helping the new Labour government meet its economic and environmental goals,” he added. “We are an industry worth £3bn to the economy, providing low-carbon materials for Labour’s ambitious house building programme, forging ahead on net zero, continually creating jobs and investing in a skilled workforce. There is scope for much more investment and growth if the government can work with Confor to provide the confidence that industry needs.”
this partnership yields will benefit our customers, while strengthening our market position as a specialist timber solutions provider.”
Darren Smith, previous co-owner of Stairway Joinery, said the modernisation opportunities from being part of such a group would enable the company to grow its business.
The deal was structured and completed with the support of Acuity Law providing legal counsel, Gambit Corporate Finance who supported the Premier Forest team throughout the deal process, and Kilsby Williams accountants, who conducted financial due diligence.
Modular builderTopHat asset auction after factory closure
The assets of modular UK builder TopHat’s Derby factory are being auctioned off after the firm closed the site.
The news is the latest blow to the off-site modular building sector, with the likes of L&G and others also having closed large loss-making factories. According to its most recently available financial results for the year ended October 31, 2022, the company posted a loss of £20.4m from a turnover of £10.2m. The previous year it had recorded a loss of £19.5m.
The 125,000ft2 factory in Derby has the
capacity to produce 800 homes per year, timber materials forming a large part of production.
More than £150m of private sector funding backing had been received by the firm to date, including from leader investor Goldman Sachs. Persimmon and Aviva were also backers.
The company said the losses were mainly the result of a continued investment in the future growth of the business, which is increasing the cost base of the company. The assets being auctioned off included an entire modular building assembly line, a Hundegger timber processing machine, forklift trucks and a large amount of timber products.
www.ttjonline.com | November/December 2024 | TTJ
UK News
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