Mon, 09 Dec 2024 | BUSINESS SALE
SWL, the parent company of forestry management company Scottish Woodlands, has bought peer RTS Forestry to create the UK’s largest forest management, consultancy and timber harvesting business.
Scottish Woodlands Ltd has 20 offices, with around 250 staff, in all four parts of the UK, and is headquartered at Riccarton, Edinburgh. It is 80% employee-owned and provides a comprehensive range of forest, estate and land-related services. Its history dates back over 75 years.
RTS Forestry Ltd employs more than 50 people across four offices – with its headquarters in Crieff, Perthshire and bases in Inverness, Inverurie (Aberdeenshire) and Hexham, Northumberland. It offers wide-ranging services in forest management, consultancy, wood fuel, timber harvesting and utilities.
The combined business will therefore have more than 300 employees and operate across all of Scotland as well as in the north of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The existing senior management team will remain within RTS to continue to develop the business.
Ian Robinson, Managing Director of Scottish Woodlands Ltd, said: “We are delighted to welcome RTS and look forward to supporting the continued development of the business. RTS brings to the Group a respected and highly skilled team of staff who have grown the company significantly in recent years”.
The deal also gives Scottish Woodlands exposure to the UK biomass industry where RTS is a leading woodfuel supplier to small and medium-scale biomass boilers. The demand for this from residential and commercial customers is increasing as the UK strives to hit net-zero emissions targets.
Norman O’Neill, Managing Director of RTS Forestry Ltd, said. “When we took the decision to investigate a sale process, the requirement to secure a stable future for RTS staff and our clients was the primary objective. Scottish Woodlands was by some distance our preferred choice and we are delighted to see the sale conclude in a straightforward manner”.
He added that the sale provided long-term stability for the RTS team and an opportunity to develop their careers within a larger group.
“We are delighted to continue to move the RTS business forward with Scottish Woodlands Ltd, an employee-owned business of remarkable financial strength, and highly regarded within the industry,” O’Neill said.
RTS Forestry Ltd will continue to operate under the RTS name as part of the enlarged group.
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