Wed, 22 Nov 2023 | BUSINESS SALE
Premier Forest Products, a timber company based in Newport, has acquired County Durham-based North-East Sheets & Panels (NESP). The deal is Premier Forest’s second in the space of a month and the company says it is continuing to seek new acquisition opportunities.
NESP, which was founded in 1998, is a specialist manufacturer and supplier of made-to-measure panels, cabinets, doors and worktops. The company supplies trade customers and retailers in the fitted kitchen, bathroom and bedroom markets and is based a short distance from Premier Forest’s northern division, Decorpanel.
The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will see NESP’s joint owners and directors Richard and Lisa Williams retire, while Decorpanel Managing Director Anthony Hopps will expand his role to serve as NESP’s Division Director.
Richard Williams commented: “We are pleased to announce the acquisition of North-East Sheets & Panels by Premier Forest Products, marking a new chapter in the company’s story. Our 21 dedicated staff will remain in their roles, providing Premier Forest with the benefit of their considerable expertise and experience that has allowed us to grow into the business it is today.”
Lisa Williams added that, with the financial backing of Premier Forest, NESP "will be able to grow to the next level and I’m confident that it will flourish as part of a larger group.”
Premier Forest Products specialises in the importation, sawmilling, processing, merchanting and wholesale distribution of timber and timber products across multiple UK sites and generates £120 million in annual revenue.
The company’s co-founder and Chief Executive Terry Edgell commented: “This acquisition is the perfect fit for Premier Forest Products, as the synergies between the business and Decorpanel provide exciting opportunities for growth in the north-east and nationwide.”
“North-East Sheets & Panels’ skills and expertise fit perfectly with our strategic goal of expanding value-add product categories, whilst the business will thrive by expanding its manufacturing capacity via Decorpanel and continuing to produce quality, made-to-measure doors, panels, cabinets and worktops.”
The deal follows soon after Premier Forest’s acquisition of fellow Newport-based firm Paul White Ironmongery Doors and Fixings, with Edgell saying that acquisitions are a “key part” of the company’s strategic growth plan and that it was “continually seeking new opportunities to welcome businesses like NESP to the Premier Forest family.”
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