TIMBER BSW GROUP BOUGHT BY ENDLESS LLP T
he sawmilling group BSW Group has been acquired by equity firm Endless LLP, which will provide the capital to support BSW’s ambitious future growth plans through further expansion of its market position.
BSW Group employs over 1,200 people and turns over £350 million annually, has previously expanded the business and integrated its supply chain through acquisitions such as Tilhill Forestry, Alvic Plastics and, more recently, Maelor Forest Nurseries.
As well as adding BSW to its portfolio, the Leeds-based private equity firm also owns a number of large UK-based businesses including cake manufacturer Bright Blue Foods, golf retailer American Golf and national distribution firm Menzies Distribution. BSW CEO, Tony Hackney, and CFO, Alan Milne, will remain at the helm of the BSW business and will continue to assist in driving the group’s future growth.
Hackney said: “This is fantastic news for BSW. Whilst it is business as usual, we are excited by the opportunities new ownership will bring us and we look forward to entering
a new era of rapid growth and development under Endless’ ownership. We would also like to thank the Brownlie family for creating such a strong legacy and supporting the growth of the company and its employees.” Aidan Robson, Partner at Endless LLP, added: “We are delighted to have been selected to support the acquisition of the BSW Group, a business with fantastic prospects and one that we believe has a very exciting future.
As the country’s largest timber producer, BSW plays a critical role in supporting the UK’s commitment to using more local and sustainable raw materials and becoming carbon neutral by 2050. We look forward to working closely with Tony, Alan and the rest of the BSW team to deliver continued organic growth and further diversification through investment and acquisition.” The Royal Bank of Scotland (‘RBoS’) Asset Based Lending team supported the transaction. Andrew Barraclough, Head of Regional Asset Based Lending at RBoS ABL, added: “We are delighted to be continuing to support such a fantastic Scottish business and long-standing client of the bank.” BMJ
NEW TIMBER FACILITY ON THE MEDWAY
A major new facility for UK timber trade has opened up on the River Medway in Kent following a £27m investment by operators Peel
Ports.The site at Wellmarsh provides scope for storage, processing and handling of all timber types. The facility is based at the Port of Sheerness, which is the largest terminal of its kind in the UK, handling 1.1 million tonnes of timber and forest products a year. The port already has 40-acres of timber storage facilities and Peel Ports’ investment takes it to a total of over 50 acres.
There is a further option for international distribution as the port has 11 metres of water depth with no tidal restrictions or lock system, allowing for unrestricted 24 hour berthing. Port director Richard Goffin said: “This is a direct response to the interest we’ve had from throughout the construction sector in using the Port of Sheerness.
SKILLS FOR SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS
David Hopkins, managing director of the Timber Trade Federation, looks at the interrelationship between skills, sustainability and the softwood business
Peter Drucker, American businessman sometimes called the ‘father of modern management’, once made the pithy remark that: “Making good decisions is a crucial skill at every level.” Having the information on which to make those good decisions, whether that be on timber purchasing or marketing your wood offering, is essential to the skilled operation of a profitable merchant business. Our UK Softwood Conference last month brought together all the information - on supplies, markets and customer demographics – that merchants will need this year. Softwood supplies to the UK are set to remain tight for a number of reasons. Canada is facing possibly permanent shut- downs of some sawmills due to pine bark beetle damage, yet the USA market for softwood is still growing. This is tempting European softwood suppliers to fill the gap, especially as the Americans are paying favourable prices. European markets are still resilient, and China’s demand is starting to resurge. However some European countries are being badly affected by Spruce bark
beetle, moving northward with climate change, causing an influx of lower grade Spruce into the supply chain. Additional factors such as the recent Finnish sawmill strike, now happily over, have also affected supplies.
Professor Noble Francis, Economics Director at the Construction Products Association, highlighted factors both short- and longer- term that may impact sales. One current factor in particular, the shortage of skilled wood trades, is driving housing providers to look at offsite-manufactured housing solutions. The government already sees offsite as the panacea for delivering its housing targets, yet this bypasses normal merchant routes of timber supply.
Over the next decade, some 500,000 UK construction workers are due to retire, Professor Francis told the audience. With ‘Gen Z’, which includes the next generation of woodworkers, already studying carpentry & joinery at college, merchants with an eye to the future of wood sales need to begin engaging with this new customerbase.
The TTF is already lending its support to the Institute of Carpenters, which is setting up City Hubs to connect student carpenters & joiners with mentors, suppliers and potential employers.
Drucker is also quoted as saying: “The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well that the product or service fits him and sells itself.” The characteristics of Gen Z young people include a sincere desire to protect the environment. Getting across the timber sustainability and renewability message, as well as timber’s carbon storage potential, will enable them to make a positive choice in favour of wood materials. We need to work together as an industry to make this happen. We applaud the British Woodworking Federation’s re-launch of its schools programme ‘Wow I Made That’, and the Finishes & Interiors Sector for its ‘I BuiltThis’ campaigns. Also promoting demand, the Wood Awards, in their 50th
year, have opened
the call for entries. Each of us, in our own area, are enacting Drucker’s mantra: “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net April 2020
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