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Timber Merchanting Development Award

We're delighted to announce that we've been shortlisted for the Timber Merchanting Development Award at this year's TTJ (Timber Trades Journal) Awards - recognising the initiatives we've undertaken to develop and improve the timber side of our business between September 2024 and June 2026.

Our entry, 'Acquisition of Sunderland Branch, Build Pack Division, Timber Handbooks and Merchandising,' reflects a period of significant growth and innovation across the business.

'Being shortlisted for this award is fantastic recognition of our commitment to timber, which remains at the heart of our business. Over the past year, we've strengthened our offer by opening a dedicated timber merchant branch in Sunderland, expanding our range with products such as Accoya and specialist sheet materials, and becoming a nominated supplier to major Tier 1 contractors including Morgan Sindall, Sir Robert McAlpine, J Murphy, Kier Group, and John Sisk & Son. We've also invested in our people, with 80 colleagues having completed, or currently undertaking, the Essentials in Timber Merchanting courses. These investments are delivering results, with timber sales growing by 5% and timber landscaping sales increasing by 14.8% in April and May compared with the same period last year, outperforming the wider market and highlighting the expertise and dedication of our teams." - Nick Howarth, Managing Director of Howarth Timber Group

Sunderland branch

The acquisition of the Arnold Laver Sunderland branch marked a significant milestone in our growth, bringing us to 36 branches under the Howarth network. The acquisition also gave us the opportunity to introduce the Accoya timber range into the business through Sunderland, which is a product that's already performing strongly, currently holding the #1 position in Google's AI Overview and driving significant organic visibility for the brand.

Howarth Sunderland is now our 36th branch under the network.

Expanding our build pack division

Our rapidly growing 1st and 2nd fix build pack division now delivers a streamlined, end-to-end solution for construction projects across the UK, providing scheduled plot packs direct to site - all managed through a single point of contact for consistency and ease.

The growing 1st and 2nd fix build pack division delivers an end-to-end solution for construction across the UK.

Driving digital discoverability

Alongside these developments, we've made significant improvements to how our timber category is represented online. Through in-depth keyword research, we identified a gap in search demand for common timber sizing terms such as 4x2 and 3x2. By incorporating SEO-optimised content into our updated category structure and featuring these pages within the mega menu, we've significantly improved visibility and discoverability. As a result, our top 10 keyword rankings have increased by 91.8%.

We've incorporated timber sizings to our online product selection, improving our SEO.

Being shortlisted for this award is a fantastic recognition of the hard work that's gone into growing and strengthening our timber offering over the past two years. We'll keep you posted on how we get on at the awards on the 19th of September!

14th Aug 2026 Emily Green

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