The deal follows two acquisitions last year and keeps the Newport-based company on target to reach £100m turnover at the end of its current financial year.
The Border sawmilling division is made up of GTP Border Forest, which sells solid wood products, and Border Forest Products, which sells the co-product of production to the biomass industry. Both operate from a nine-acre site in Croespenmaen, South Wales. They will now operate as Premier Forest Sawmilling.
Premier was formed 20 years ago and has made its sixth acquisition since 2007. These incude Brooks, Ireland’s oldest timber company, in 2012, and more recently, Uxbridge-based Ron Lewis Holdings and Dublin Plywood and Veneers.
“This is a very exciting acquisition for Premier; one that we believe has the potential to have a big impact on our operations,” said director and co-founder Terry Edgell. “The sawmill’s current financial performance shows great potential for bringing improved earnings, significantly increasing the volume of material we distribute, improving our environmental credentials and giving us a secure supply source of fencing and pallet wood products, whilst in addition giving control of the quality and product range produced.”
HSBC’s Wales Corporate Banking team provided a seven-figure funding package to support the acquisition. Senior corporate banking manager Mike Kear said: “Premier Forest Products is a growing business and deals like this one further propel the company.”
The Border Group is a large, privately-owned group of companies founded in 1965. Chairman Ernie Branfield said the decision to sell the sawmill arm was to focus on its core businesses in engineering, plant and storage.
“We are very proud of the company that we have created and would only have considered selling GTP Border Forest and Border Forest Products to a company that shared our core values,” he said.
