Saint-Gobain has agreed the sale of builders merchant Jewson to Stark Group for £740 million.
by Rory Butler / December 12, 2022
The deal is the culmination of an 18-month withdrawal by Saint-Gobain of all specialist distribution brands throughout the UK, representing revenues of around £560 million.
The French firm said this is part of its ‘continued business optimisation strategy’ to enhance growth and profitability.
Stark Group, headquartered in Denmark, is owned by private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. In 2019, the firm also acquired Saint-Gobain’s German distribution business, doubling net sales.
Its annual sales turnover from this acquisition will be around £7.75 billion.
The deal includes 600 Jewson outlets and distribution centres, plus an 8,900-strong workforce:
- Jewson Civils Frazer
- Minster
- International Timber
- Gibbs and Dandy
- JP Corry (Northern Ireland)
These represent a collective turnover of £2.3 billion a year.
Jewson was founded in 1836. Saint-Gobain has owned the brand since 2000.
The transaction is expected to complete in Q1 2023.
Image credit: Jewson Building Materials by Robin Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
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