STARK Group Enters UK Market with Accelerated Acquisition of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK Ltd.

STARK Group Enters UK Market with Accelerated Acquisition of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK Ltd.

(IN BRIEF) STARK Group A/S has completed the accelerated separation of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK Ltd., acquiring more than 600 builders’ merchant, specialist, and distribution branches, and a major timber importer and distributor. The acquisition was initially planned to close later this year, but the separation from former owner Saint-Gobain UK Ltd. has been expedited, with the acquisition closing on the first day of spring. The acquisition takes STARK Group’s total pro forma annual net sales to around EUR 9 billion, and the combined company has more than 20,000 employees across approximately 1,150 dedicated builders’ merchants, specialists, and distribution centres. STARK Group in the UK will operate as STARK Building Materials UK Ltd. and include well-known brands like Jewson, Gibbs & Dandy, JP Corry, Jewson Civils Frazer, Minster, and International Timber.

(PRESS RELEASE) FREDERIKSBERG, Denmark, 1-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — Stark Group A/S, one of the largest retailers and distributors of building materials across Northern Europe, announces that it has completed the accelerated separation of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution UK Ltd. and entered the UK market ahead of schedule. The acquisition includes over 600 dedicated builders’ merchant, specialist, and distribution branches, as well as a major timber importer and distributor. The acquisition was initially planned to close later this year, but the separation from former owner Saint-Gobain UK Ltd. has been accelerated, with the acquisition closing on the first day of spring.

With the acquisition, STARK Group’s total pro forma annual net sales reach around EUR 9 billion, and the combined company employs over 20,000 people across approximately 1,150 dedicated builders’ merchants, specialists, and distribution centers. STARK Group is a leading retailer and distributor of heavy building materials across Europe, operating in the Nordics, Germany, Austria, and now the UK.

STARK Group in the UK will operate under the name STARK Building Materials UK Ltd. and include some of the UK’s leading brands in retail and distribution of building materials to professional craftsmen. These include Jewson, Gibbs & Dandy, JP Corry, Jewson Civils Frazer, Minster, and International Timber.

Group CEO Søren P. Olesen says:

”We are very pleased to have completed this acquisition in great time, having announced the deal in mid-December. We look very much forward to welcoming nearly 9,000 colleagues and many new tradespeople to our customer list in the UK. We have a strategy that successfully focuses on professional tradespeople and the renovation and maintenance market. The UK is an attractive market with solid population growth, one of Europe’s oldest housing stocks, and a huge potential for energy renovations.”

“We are facing a challenging transition year, but we have acquired a company that we can make thrive and grow. The more than 600 branches and distribution centres are in good locations across the entire UK. We will invest in the business, the customers, the employees, and the distribution. We have acquired a company with whom we can continue our growth journey.”

A spokesperson for Saint-Gobain says:

“We’re pleased to have successfully and efficiently completed the divestment of Saint-Gobain Building Distribution and International Timber to STARK Group. We wish our former colleagues and STARK Group every success for the future. With this divestment, Saint-Gobain no longer has any distribution businesses in the UK”.

About STARK Group

STARK Group is a leading business-to-business distributor of heavy building materials for the construction industry in Europe, with a strategic focus on serving professional builders from its more than 1,150 branches. STARK Group has pro forma net sales of approx. EUR 9 billion, operates in the UK, Germany, Austria, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, and Norway and employs more than 20,000 people. STARK Group holds leading national or regional position in all markets.

STARK Group is committed to reach net zero emissions by 2050 across the entire business, is a signatory to the UN Global Compact, and works within fully validated science-based targets to keep global warming below 1.5°C

Media contact:

Kaspar Bach Habersaat
Group Chief Communications Officer
+45 4092 8881
kha@starkgroup.dk

SOURCE: STARK Group A/S

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