BSW Timber Group acquires Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd

July 12, 2019 - PRLog -- BSW Timber Limited has, of 12 July 2019, acquired Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd.

In addition to securing the future for the delivery of home-grown British trees to the UK forest industry, this exciting acquisition will enable Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd to progress with their visionary expansion plans. These include the highly important and valuable scientific research work the nursery is renowned for undertaking.

The foundations for this work have been supported over many years by the close working relationship with Tilhill Forestry, also part of the BSW Group.
Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd is located in Wrexham on the English/Welsh Border and produces an extensive range of commercial forestry and native broadleaf species, marketing almost 30 million trees a year to customers throughout the UK and Europe. The company plans to expand into Scotland in the near future and is also heavily involved in the scientific research associated with the production of improved tree stock with enhanced genetics.

The acquisition will immediately benefit the quality tree supply to the whole of the forest industry by means of Maelor's forthcoming expansion into Morayshire. The result of which will provide the facilities to bring an additional 5 to 10 million plants into the supply chain annually.

Tony Hackney, Chief Executive, BSW Timber Group Limited, said: "This is a significant acquisition both for the BSW Group and the forest industry as a whole. Maelor's strength lies in bringing quality home grown trees to the market and for providing a platform for the research involved in ensuring a sustainable supply of better quality trees for the future. This acquisition is a key component of BSW's vision for the future of forestry and its strategy of vertical integration providing high quality resultant timber products. We are really looking forward to working with Mike and his team and exploring areas for potential growth"

Mike Harvey, Managing Director of Maelor Forest Nurseries said of the purchase: "I am delighted that the future of Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd has been secured. This is an extremely exciting step in the history of the company and one that is going to bring a multitude of benefits to not only our existing customers but forestry as a whole. In particular, we can now press ahead with our expansion plans and increase production.  The forest industry can consider that, as of today, the future of commercial trees as its key commodity is now significantly healthier."

Burges Salmon LLP and EY advised BSW Timber, with support from RBS. Brodies advised the sellers.

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Press enquiries: Sarah Clay Head of Marketing Tilhill Forestry Ltd 07768 238815

Notes to Editors

About BSW Timber
•    BSW Timber is the largest sawmilling business in Great Britain, with the company's foundations going back to 1848.
•    BSW sawmills are located throughout the UK, at Fort William, Boat of Garten, Petersmuir, Dalbeattie, Carlisle and Newbridge-on-Wye in Wales and they have one sawmill in Riga, Latvia.
•    The company is also developing a sawmill in Slovenia.
•    Group Headquarters remain in the town of Earlston in Berwickshire, where the business originated.
•    BSW owns Tilhill Forestry, the UK's leading forest management and timber harvesting company.

www.bsw.co.uk

About Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd
•    Maelor Forest Nurseries Holdings Ltd is a bare root forest nursery providing around 30 million bare root forest trees to the market each year, both in the UK and abroad.
•    The Company is registered against the provisions of BS EN ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System.
•    The Company is dedicated to the growing of forestry and hedging plants from seed which is fully traceable to provenance.
•    Maelor's technical work aims to improve growing conditions on the nursery to produce a better quality plant and to ensure that this quality is maintained all down the line from despatch to planting out and beyond.

www.maelor.co.uk