Scottish housebuilder the Stewart Milne Group is to build a £10m timber frame kit factory in England.
The company says the new factory will meet increasing demand for timber frame building systems in England.
It received planning permission only last week to build the 120,000ft² fully automated factory at Witney, Oxfordshire.
Group chairman and chief executive Stewart Milne said: ‘We started the timber systems division in Aberdeen 25 years ago and we have built an operation turning over £36m with 230 staff.
‘Since 40% of that business comes from England and Wales it makes economical sense to build the timber frame house kits in the heart of the market and develop new customers there rather than ship the product down from Scotland.’
The new factory, to be completed in December this year, represents an initial £10m investment, with further substantial investment planned over the next two to four years.
Stewart Milne’s Aberdeen operation makes 6,000 kits a year. The new facility will create about 250 jobs and increase annual capacity to 10,000-12,000 kits.
Heading up the Witney facil-ity will be Hugh Mackay, a Stewart Milne board member who has led the timber frame division since the start.
He becomes executive chairman of Stewart Milne Timber Systems and will oversee both the English and Scottish divisions.
Plans also exist to expand the Scottish operation.
