More than 550 jobs have been lost at a Yorkshire timber company which has fallen into administration. With 47 locations across the º£½ÇÊÓƵ – including sites in Newcastle, Sunderland, Leeds, Northallerton, Hull, Manchester and Bristol – National Timber Group is the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s largest independent timber distribution and processing group.
With its head office in Sheffield, the Group was created through the acquisitions of brands including Thornbridge, NYTimber, Rembrand Timber and Arnold Laver and employs 1,150 people in all. However, after a difficult trading period which triggered liquidity challenges the firm has appointed administrators.
Michael Magnay, Gemma Quinn and Jonathan Marston of professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal have been appointed as joint administrators of five entities making up National Timber Group. The move follows the notice of intention to appointment administrators which wasa filed by the companies on just under two weeks ago.
The administrators said there have been 561 immediate redundancies across sites and central functions, and that they are supporting the employees through the redundancy process.
A total of 13 of the group’s branches have also been closed with immediate effect, with the remaining sites continuing to operate. Some of the company’s production facilities have also been mothballed.
The sites which have closed with immediate effect in England are in Bradford, Cheltenham, Rainham, Peterborough, Stoke, Alfreton, Northallerton. Closures in Scotland include Dumbarton, Forfar, Newton Stewart Edinburgh – Hawkhill, Anniesland and Stirling.
The administrators have now launched a sale process for the business and assets of National Timber Group and have called for any interested parties to contact them.
Michael Magnay, joint administrator, said: “National Timber Group is the º£½ÇÊÓƵ’s leading timber supplier to joiners, housebuilders and contractors, operating under a number of widely recognised brands. As joint administrators, we have launched an accelerated sale process, and we encourage any interested parties to contact us as soon as possible.
“We are encouraged by the level of interest so far and we are hopeful of finding a buyer for all or parts of the group.â€
“Regrettably, the company’s liquidity challenges have led to a number of immediate redundancies. We are committed to supporting the affected employees through the redundancy process. We appreciate the support and patience of the highly skilled workforce in difficult circumstances, particularly at this time of year."
National Timber Group England Ltd and its parent firm National Timber Group Midco Ltd filed a notice of intention on November 13. Most recent accounts for National Timber Group England Ltd, covering 2023, showed turnover of £196.5m, up from £189.3m, but its operating profit of £7.3m in 2022 was converted to a loss of £27.1m.
In the accounts the firm said that, while revenue increased by £7.2m in the year, that figure included £12.6m from the post hive-up trade of the three subsidiary companies. It added: "Excluding this, underlying revenue was down by £5.4m, impacted by an extremely challenging operating environment across our markets."
