Bristol-based timber supplier Taylor Maxwell Group, which started life in 1959 as a brick and timber merchant operating from one showroom in the city, has been acquired by a smaller rival in a deal worth up to £63m.
Key senior management and around 190 staff will transfer to new owner Bridgend-based Brickability, a leading specialist provider of building materials to housebuilders and contractors. 
Brickability said the acquisition – its 11th since 2018 – would widen its product offering, adding timber and cladding ,while boosting its overall market position and paving the way for future growth.
Taylor Maxwell was founded by E Maxwell and R Taylor in 1959 and opened its first branch outside Bristol in Liverpool in 1964.
It has since growth to 16 locations nationwide and moved to a showpiece Grade II listed head office on The Promenade in Clifton. Through a series of acquisitions and organic growth it achieved a turnover of £254m in its most recent annual accounts on which it made a £10.4m profit.
Its rapid growth earned it an appearance at number 37 in the 2017 Sunday Times Profit Track 100.
Around 60% of its revenue comes from timber sales with around 30% from brick sales and 10% from cladding. 
Brickability, which listed on the London Stock Exchanges AIM market in August 2019, posted turnover of £180m in the year to March.
It has a 25 sites network and supplies more than 300m bricks annually as well as blocks, rain screen cladding systems, architectural masonry, paving, roof tiles and slates.
Brickability chief executive Alan Simpson said: “Taylor Maxwell is a business we have earmarked for acquisition since [listing] as we believe the union will bring significant short and long-term benefits to both companies and customers.
“Access to Taylor Maxwell’s longstanding relationships, distribution channels and local knowledge will greatly improve Brickability’s access to the UK marketplace while also delivering procurement, revenue and structural synergies.”
The Bristol offices of Grant Thornton Corporate Finance and Burges Salmon advised the shareholders with Grant Thornton also providing tax advisory services.
Taylor Maxwell director and shareholder Mark Phillips said the group had developed a strong reputation for the quality of its product range and the added-value nature of its service.
“In considering a potential sale, it was important an acquirer would continue to operate the business in this manner and to preserve the Taylor Maxwell values and ethos. 
“I believe that Brickability fits this criterion perfectly. I would also like to thank the teams at Grant Thornton and Burges Salmon for their help and support through this process, they have been truly outstanding, and we could not have achieved the result we did without them standing shoulder-to-shoulder with us.”
Grant Thornton Corporate Finance associate director Andrew Charter, pictured, added: “We have assisted the Taylor Maxwell Group for a number of years, it is a truly outstanding business and we are delighted to have helped the team complete this deal.
“Brickability is an ideal partner for the business and we are confident it will build upon the Taylor Maxwell reputation. Although this deal provides a successful exit for a few shareholders, the majority will continue in the business.”
