Timber firm eyes bright future after management buyout

Snows Timber, which has a distributon centre on the Fulwood Industrial Estate at Huthwaite, has been acquired by three of its directors.

And one of them, managing director Ian Church, is confident the deal will enable the company to take a new direction.

Ian said: “ This is great news for us and for Snows’ customers. It enables us to create a truly agile business and to continue investing in the areas that really need it.

“In the area of customer service, we aim to be the very best in our sector. What excites us most is that we are now truly independent.”

Snows Timber, which was founded in the late 1800s, is a national importer, processor and distributor of timber and timber products, supplying a range of merchants and manufacturers.

The company was bought by The Bradfords Group, the UK’s oldest building materials supplier, in 1988, but it has now sold the business to a consortium led by Ian and also including supply chain director Craig Willoughby and finance director Adam Cray.

There is another distribution centre at Andover in Hampshire, while Snows Timber’s head office and national sales office is at Towcester in Northamptonshire.

Its former head office and distribution centre at Glastonbury in Somerset was sold to Sydenhams, independent timber merchants and importers, in February.