Sweden-headed forest products major SCA AB has announced that its subsidiary SCA Wood Supply UK Ltd, which is engaged in the manufacture and distribution of timber and associated products for the Home Improvement and Builders Merchant sector in the United Kingdom, has been divested to BSW Timber Ltd part of BSW Group. SCA will keep its organization for the sales of wood products to industrial customers in the UK.
BSW Group is the largest integrated forestry business in the UK – and it has five main operating divisions across the value chain – tree nurseries, forestry, sawmilling, timber manufacturing, and energy. The group has seven sawmills in the UK, one in Latvia, and an integrated sawmill, combined heat and power (CHP) plant, and a wood pellet mill project under development in Slovenia.
According to a statement, the acquisition of the Building and Supply Solutions division of SCA Wood UK, which includes the manufacture and distribution of timber and associated products to the home improvement and builders merchant sectors “heralds the beginning of BSW’s growth strategy” under the ownership of private equity firm Endless LLP that acquired the Group in February 2020.
We are very pleased to have agreed on a common approach with SCA to acquire its UK operations, which will significantly strengthen our position with our expanding customer base. The opportunity to add value to our established products and widen the products we offer and distribute is extremely exciting. This major milestone in the timber industry provides our customers with a strengthened and broader range and will extend our excellent service provision. Through this acquisition, we will deliver a combined package of timber solutions adding to the security of supply for the market, said Tony Hackney, CEO of BSW.
Approximately 280 SCA employees in the UK will join BSW Timber as part of the transaction.
We have been very pleased with the development of SCA Wood Supply UK, both in the Home Improvement and Builders Merchant sector, but we believe that the business will further develop under the ownership of BSW. We will continue to supply sawn timber to BSW Timber, for sale on the UK market, in addition to our existing UK Industrial Solutions import and distribution operations, which remain part of SCA Wood, said Jerry Larsson, President of SCA Wood.
