Thu, 27 Nov 2025 | ADMINISTRATION
Administrators from Alvarez & Marsal have been appointed to five entities making up National Timber Group, the UK’s largest independent timber distribution and processing group. The group fell into administration following a difficult trading period, which resulted in liquidity challenges.
Headquartered in Sheffield, National Timber Group was formed through acquisitions of a number of brands, including Thornbridge, NYTimber, Rembrand Timber and Arnold Laver. The group employed a total of 1,150 staff at 47 locations across the UK, including sites in Newcastle, Northallerton, Bristol, Leeds, Manchester, Sunderland and Hull.
Following the appointment of Michael Magnay, Gemma Quinn and Jonathan Marston of Alvarez & Marsal as joint administrators, there have been 561 redundancies made across sites and central functions, while 13 of the group’s sites have been closed with immediate effect and some production facilities have been mothballed.
The sites which have closed with immediate effect in England are reported to be those in Bradford, Cheltenham, Rainham, Peterborough, Stoke, Alfreton and Northallerton, while closures in Scotland include Dumbarton, Forfar, Newton Stewart, Edinburgh – Hawkhill, Anniesland and Stirling.
The remaining sites are continuing to operate and the joint administrators have launched a sale process for the National Timber Group’s business and assets, encouraging any interested parties to contact them.
Joint administrator Michael Magnay said: “National Timber Group is the UK’s leading timber supplier to joiners, housebuilders and contractors, operating under a number of widely recognised brands. As Joint Administrators, we have launched an accelerated sale process, and we encourage any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible. We are encouraged by the level of interest so far and we are hopeful of finding a buyer for all or parts of the group.”
In accounts covering 2023, National Timber Group England Ltd reported turnover of £196.5 million, up from £189.3 million in 2022. However, it fell from an operating profit of £7.3 million in 2022 to a loss of £27.1 million.
The company said that the increase in revenue included £12.6 million from the post hive-up trade of three subsidiary companies, and that, excluding this, underlying revenue was down by £5.4 million, due to “an extremely challenging operating environment across our markets."
At the time, its fixed assets were valued at £21.6 million and current assets at £70.3 million, while total equity stood at around £26.4 million.
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