This is the second sawmill purchase for Newport-headquartered Premier within the past six months, following its successful acquisition of Border Group’s Croespenmaen mill. The acquisition also pushes Premier past the landmark figure of £100m annual revenues.
The Duchy Sawmill, established in Lostwithiel in 1958, employs 35 staff on a single 11-acre site. The business converts locally grown softwood logs into sawn timber for a variety of uses including fencing, pallets and agriculture.
In recent years the sawmill has made several technological advancements and it currently benefits from a computer-controlled sawmill, timber drying kilns, a pressure treatment plant and extensive machining facilities.
The Duchy Sawmill has the extra benefit of being able to add value by processing raw materials to produce wooden gates, fence panels and garden furniture, it can also cut to length, produce feather edge boarding and offer a full range of preservative treated products.
“The experience we have gained from the purchase of our other sawmill means that we are well-equipped to take over the Duchy Sawmill,” said Terry Edgell, Director and co-founder of Premier.
“We have also found that the opportunities we have generated since purchasing the first sawmill have exceeded not just our expectation but our capacity and we are confident that the Duchy mill will give us much needed additional sales volume and geographic expansion.”
The move increases the volume of Premier’s FSC and PEFC certified materials and secures its sales capacity for fencing and pallet wood and value added products.
HSBC’s Wales Corporate Banking team, based in Cardiff, provided a significant seven-figure funding package to support Premier in the acquisition.
“I believe that Premier is the right business to take Duchy forward, and I know that the sawmill will thrive under Premier’s stewardship,” said Duchy Sawmill’s owner Adrian High.
