Despite a competitive market and the wettest winter in decades, engineered timber company Palgrave Brown (UK) Ltd has nearly doubled turnover and trebled profits in under three years.
Latest trading figures in its second full year of operation – to March 31 – show annual sales growth of 46.4%.
Turnover stands at £47.2m with a profit before interest and tax of £3m after investments in plant and equipment and the acquisition of four new sites, bringing the national network to 19.
The roof truss manufacturer has three other main divisions, including manufactured MDF, timber trading, and high performance and standard joinery products.
The company, which started with sales of £25m and 11 sites in 1998, has a sales target of £100m by 2003.
Three businesses were acquired in the past 12 months – S&G Securities in Castleford which now provides manufacturing facilities for the premium range of Allan Brothers Doors, Mansfield Group in Marchington and Yeovil and a roof truss business in Avonmouth.
Richard Fawcett, Palgrave Brown’s managing director, said: ‘Not many businesses in such a competitive industry manage to grow both sales and profit at the same time. All sectors of the group have made important progress in the last year, contributing to an impressive 46.4% increase in sales, with roof trusses showing a 30% growth.’
As well as an ongoing programme of acquisitions, the company is investing in new production facilities and an environmentally-friendly MDF boiler at its Brinscall site in Lancashire. The central roof truss design centre in Thornbury now has two support centres in Bury St Edmunds and Brinscall, serving the north and Midlands areas in particular.
