Premier Forest Products announces strategic move to strengthen national infrastructure

Leading UK timber specialist Premier Forest Products has announced its acquisition of the trade and assets of Bitus UK Ltd from Swedish company, Bergs Timber.

Bitus UK – formerly known in the trade as Continental Wood Products (CWP) – is an importer and bulk distributor of timber, panels and garden products serving industrial manufacturing, furniture-making, construction and merchanting sectors.

Premier Forest will take on the operation of Bitus UK’s warehousing and distribution activities at the Baltic Distribution port-side facility based in Creeksea, Essex. Premier Forest has also taken on the Bitus UK sales office in Cirencester, where all members of staff have been retained.

Nigel McKillop, CEO of Bitus UK, will join Premier Forest Products as commercial director, specialising in softwood and the furniture sector. He said: “The Bitus UK team are delighted to be joining the Premier Forest family. Being a part of such an established and well-respected company provides the platform for us to strengthen, grow and develop a much wider product range to our customers from our Creeksea distribution hub.”

Terry Edgell, CEO and Co-founder at Premier Forest Products, said: “We’re very happy to welcome Bitus UK to the Premier Forest group. The strategic dockside location of the site will enable us to improve operational efficiency by providing a more direct route to our customer base. We plan to expand the range of products distributed from Creeksea to include our whole portfolio, which includes the full range of softwoods, hardwoods and sheet materials, in order to create a one-stop-timber-shop for our customers.

“Acquisitions are a key part of Premier Forest’s strategic growth plan, and we are continually seeking new opportunities to welcome businesses like Bitus UK to our Group.”

The operational activities of the Premier Forest Products Langley site are re-locating to Creeksea in Essex, to take advantage of the logistical efficiencies of the port-side distribution facility. The Langley sales team will continue to work from a location in the local area, supporting customers in the South East region as usual.

The acquisition deal was structured and completed with the support of Acuity Law providing legal advice, and Gambit Corporate Finance offered counsel during the acquisition process.

Premier Forest Products is a vertically integrated timber operation engaged in the importation, processing, machining, engineering and wholesale distribution of timber and timber products from its multiple sites in the UK.