The group has been formed by joining five timber companies in the Leicester area – Verdon Sawmills, Soar Valley Timber, Verdon Pallets & Packaging, Theobald Timber Ltd and Harry Adcock. Group turnover is estimated at £12-15m.
Verdon director Jonathan Oram told TTJ that the process of creating the group was slightly unusual as there were several shareholders who had a share in several of the companies.
The result has been Newbold Verdon-based Verdon Sawmills effectively acquiring Cadeby-based Theobald Timber, while equity swaps had been concluded with merchant Soar Valley Timber of Queniborough and hardwoods specialist Harry Adcock based near Grantham. Directors of the latter two companies join the Verdon board as directors.
"We looked at the position of all the companies," said Mr Oram. "As individual companies they were all a bit weaker than they had been historically. It was a case of getting everyone’s heads together and seeing if we could be stronger together."
The process has taken about 18 months to complete, with the Verdon name being chosen as the group name because of its long-established reputation in the trade.
Mr Oram said the close proximity of the companies to each other meant they had duplicated and overlapped each other’s operations. But now each company’s specialist expertise can be shared across the group to benefit a common customer base.
"We’ve increased staffing levels and are looking to recruit further," he added.
A new £1m 2.5-acre retail and trade collect site will open in nearby Barwell in January.
Since launching the group, Verdon has already been approached by another local timber merchant about joining.
Group companies are adopting the Verdon livery on signage, delivery vehicles, stationery and websites, but the group emphasises that customers would see no difference from an operational point of view.
