Robert Price buys assets of Terry Howell Timber and Builders’ Merchants

The pre-packaged sale was overseen by joint administrators Huw Powell and Katrina Orum of Begbies Traynor in Cardiff, with marketing support provided by Gavel Auctioneers. The agreement has secured the jobs of all 53 employees.

Terry Howell has sites in Newport and Pontypool. In the short term, the branches will continue to trade under the Terry Howell brand, as staff work to ensure its smooth and efficient integration into the Robert Price Group.

Family-owned since it was established in 1956, Terry Howell Timber and Builders’ Merchants started business manufacturing ladders. Over the years, it became one of the leading independent timber and builders’ merchants in South Wales. A five-acre wholesale distribution yard specialising in the treatment of timber was also established.

Despite efforts to cut costs, the company had experienced unsustainable losses which were mostly attributable to the wholesale business.

Under the terms of the sale, the two builders merchant stores will continue to trade, while the wholesale side of the business will close, though no employees have been made redundant.

“Terry Howell began to experience financial difficulties and volatile trading as a consequence of the pandemic,” said Huw Powell, joint administrator and partner at Begbies Traynor in Cardiff.

“This was further exacerbated by a shift in the post-Covid market with margins falling away over the past 18 months.”