UK timber product distributor International Timber’s Parkend site in Gloucestershire is preparing to close its doors for the last time by the end of June.
The closure to the Saw Mills facility in Folly Road, home to the company’s specialist hardwood sales and kilning facilities, will bring an end to many years of trading on the site and forms part of wider rationalisation at International Timber’s parent company STARK Building Materials UK Ltd in response to challenging markets and a drive to make operations more efficient.
“Our International Timber Parkend site will close by the end of June and we can confirm that the vast majority of our colleagues have already secured new roles with external organisations, with the rest of the team choosing from a number of options available to them,” a STARK spokesperson told TTJ.
“We have a long and proud heritage in offering the industry a broad and deep range of timber products powered by a robust logistics network and remain committed to being a leader in this very important sector.
“Our Grangemouth site remains the largest of our timber operations and will continue to serve the needs of customers throughout Scotland and the North and Midlands of England.”
This includes supplying specialist hardwoods, the spokesperson told TTJ.
International Timber, the spokesperson added, would continue to play an important role in the STARK UK family of businesses, serving customers right across the UK. STARK UK also provides a dedicated specialist joinery service from Scotland with weekly deliveries available to Jewson branches across the UK network.
“We will stop our in-house kilning, instead procuring these treated products from a specialist third party. This approach is common across the timber industry; out-sourcing kilning is another example of how we are optimising our distribution platform.
“We are committed to being a leader in timber product distribution to the UK’s general builders and specialist tradespeople.”
The spokesperson explained the market continued to be “challenging for everyone in our industry”. Against this background, STARK says it is taking confidence in the progress it is making and remain committed to implementing its plans, which are focused on continuing to make improvements and to building the propositions that its customers were looking for.
International’s Trafford Park site was closed in January 2025.
STARK Building Materials UK Ltd’s most recently published accounts – for the full year ended July 31, 2024 – (published in April 2025), show the Group made an operating loss before adjustments of £17.4m. Pre-tax loss for the year was £123.2m, partly due to interest expense of £72.5m.
Revenues of £2.068bn were an 8.7% reduction versus the 12 month pro-rata equivalent on July 31, 2023.
The results include the full range of STARK’s businesses, including Jewson.
In the accounts, STARK said despite a reduction in revenue, a substantial cost reduction exercise had dramatically improved the efficiency of the business, leading to a significant reduction in losses year-on-year. The cost savings include headcount reduction, branch closures and re-contracting with significant suppliers.
Proceeds of £38.5m were received from the sale and leaseback of the Purfleet site. The disposal of the Purfleet site contributed £25.3m to the results.
“With a significantly reduced costbase, the directors are confident the company is well positioned to thrive as market conditions improve,” the accounts stated.
