The Belfast timber and builders' merchant, JP Corry, has acquired a timber importer and distributor in Britain, in a deal which it says will double its turnover.
While the purchase price for RK Timber Ltd was not disclosed, market sources valued the deal at up to £30 million (€38.09 million). JP Corry is buying RK Timber from Raab Karcher Share holdings, a subsidiary of the German company, Veba.
The company decided to sell RK Timber, which it has owned for more than 25 years, because it plans to exit the industry. The UK builders' merchant market has been depressed in recent years and has experienced a wave of consolidation.
The combined entity will have an annual turnover of £125 million sterling (€189.38 million) and employ about 800 people. The acquisition is understood to be the largest ever made by JP Corry, which last November took over Coen Holdings, the hardwood importer and builders' merchant based in the Republic, for between £12 million and £15 million.
JP Corry is headed by Northern Ireland businessman Mr Ansley Tolland. Mr Tolland and the venture capital companies, 3i and ICC Venture Capital, took control of the company about three years ago. Since then, annual turnover has increased from £27 million sterling to £65 million sterling.
JP Corry has 15 outlets in Ireland North and South, and has completed several smaller acquisitions in Northern Ireland in recent years, including Aerocrete, a plumbing and heating supplier based in Belfast and Dungannon.
RK Timber, based in Salford, has an annual turnover of about £60 million sterling. While it operates about 17 depots around Britain, it is also a major manufacturer of roof trusses for the construction industry. It will continue to trade as RK Timber under the terms of the deal.
The chief executive of RK Timber, Mr Terry Hughes, said because JP Corry had no presence in the British market, it would not have any adverse implications for the company's operation there.
Mr Tolland said the move by JP Corry into Britain followed logically from its Coen acquisition in the Republic.
Mr Hughes said that, outside the major listed companies in the sector, RK Timber was in the top two in Britain in terms of turnover. He said RK Timber's business had grown significantly in recent years. "We had eight depots around five years ago and we have now increased to 17," he pointed out.
Mr Tom Kirwan, of ICC Venture Capital, said: "This is a dramatic step forward by Corry, virtually doubling the size of the group and giving it a significant presence in Britain".
