Stevenswood acquires Truemans Holdings
Stevenswood has acquired Truemans Holdings, supported by a further investment from Cairngorm Capital Partners.
The purchase of Truemans supports Stevenswood’s ambition to develop a national network of trade counters and become the leading trade counter distributor in the UK, following the acquisition of Polyframe’s trade counters at the end of 2016.
A wholly owned family business established in 1997, Truemans is a growing trade counter group operating four trade counters in Burnley, Doncaster, Sheffield and Crewe, with another scheduled to open in Reading in spring 2017. The company employs 41 people and is forecast to achieve revenue of £10m in 2017.
Stevenswood said that strategically, this acquisition presented the perfect opportunity for further expansion, as the Truemans stores complete important gaps in Stevenswood’s presence in England.
Truemans’ managing director, Joe Trueman, will join the Stevenswood senior management team as commercial director filling what is claimed to be an important role to drive Stevenswood’s continued growth strategy.
The new combined group will continue to be headquarted in Livingston and will have more than 30 branches across the UK, generating revenues of over £40m and employing more than 165 people.
The completion of this acquisition also marks the decision by Ron Hepburn, Stevenswood’s founder, to retire. Having successfully built the Stevenswood business from a small window fabricator to become one of the UK’s leading window and door distributors, with revenues of over £30m from 25 trade counters nationwide, Ron considers this to be the ideal time to step back from the business.
“The acquisition of Polyframe’s trade centres in November was the culmination of a 20-year ambition to grow my young business into the successful enterprise that it is today,” Ron said. “To have achieved so much and with the support of a great team fills me with pride.
“At the time of the deal, I committed to stay for a limited period to ensure that the merger transitioned well, to give my management team the support that they required during a period of intense change, and to prepare the company to fulfil its potential. This acquisition signals the next stage in the company’s future and the logical point for me to step aside.”
John Declerck, a Stevenswood non-executive director, will join the business full time as group chief executive. He brings over 15 years’ global executive experience in procurement, merchandising, brand strategy and digital marketing for building materials and home improvement firms such as Kingfisher and Home Depot.
John is supported by: Duncan Murray as chief operations officer; Joe Trueman as commercial director; Nick Summers leading Stevenswood’s continued acquisition strategy; and Murray McGarvie as financial director.
Stevenswood has also appointed Jim Faulds as non-executive chairman. Jim brings considerable experience of supporting private equity backed investments in a non-executive capacity and as the founder of The Faulds Group, which he sold in 2001.
John Declerck, group chief executive of Stevenswood said: “The coming together of Truemans and Stevenswood underlines our mutual strategic commitment to become the leading trade counter distributor of windows and doors in the UK. Our collective focus is to build a customer-led business with improved stores, an enhanced product range and a consistently excellent service offering.”
Joe Trueman, managing director of Truemans said: “I look forward to joining the Stevenswood team to accelerate our combined growth strategy, while providing the widest product range and highest levels of customer service in the industry.”
Picture: Ron Hepburn, Stevenswood’s founder.