RF Giddings & Co sold to BSW Timber

RF Giddings & Co Ltd has been acquired by BSW Timber (now part of the BSW Group), in a transaction managed by Initium Corporate Finance.

At the time of the transaction, RF Giddings & Co Ltd operated a state-of-the-art softwood sawmill located on a 10.45 acre freehold site in the New Forest at Bartley, near Southampton. The company, which was established in the 1890s, began cutting hardwood in Hampshire in 1943 in support of the war effort. RF Giddings & Co Ltd supplied national organisations in the building and construction industry with materials for the fencing, pallet and construction markets, and was a long-term supplier to the horticultural and power generation markets.

BSW Timber Ltd, Britain’s largest sawmilling business, was first founded in 1848. Headquartered at Earlston in Berwickshire, at the time of the transaction, the company had operations throughout the UK, at Fort William, Boat of Garten, Petersmuir, Dalbeattie, Carlisle and Newbridge-on-Wye in Wales, plus one sawmill in Riga, Latvia. The business employed over 1,000 staff and reported revenues in excess of £186m.

Following this landmark transaction, BSW Timber continued to expand, and now has an annual production capacity exceeding 1,200,000 m³. The BSW Group is now the UK’s largest forestry and timber group, and member of Binderholz, Europe’s leading timber processing operation.

Since 2012, BSW Timber has invested £125m into supporting sustainable forestry, and all timber is certified, and sourced from well-established, ethically managed sources.