Family timber merchant Edmund A Stephens, located close to Liverpool docks, invests in second site in Wirral despite seeing annual revenues fall 24% to £16.6m. Tony McDonough reports

Family-run timber merchant Edmund A Stephens (EAS) has secured a seven-figure funding package from NatWest to acquire a second Merseyside site.

Based in Bootle, close to Liverpool docks, EAS was founded in 1978 by Edmund and Linda Stephens. Now the business is owned and run by their son Mick Stephens along with his wife and two sons.

In accounts filed on Companies House, for the 12 months to November 30, 2023, MAS saw a 24% fall in revenues to £16.6m. Pre-tax profits fell 21% to £1.5m. Directors said the company’s performance was “satisfactory”. It paid out dividends of just over £1m.

Now the firm, which supplies a range of timber products to the building industry including fencing, decking, packaging and flooring, is acquiring a second site in Bromborough in Wirral. This is to support its expanding customer-base in Chester and North Wales.

Mick Stephens said: “For more than four decades, we have been providing a range of timber products to customers to fit their needs.

“My parents shared their expertise and passion for their business with me, and I am continuing in that tradition today, working alongside my wife and children to further develop the business, and also explore other opportunities.”

In addition to running EAS, which also provides bespoke cutting services and employs around 60 people, Mick and his nephew have founded Paragon KBB. This is a home improvements venture specialising in bespoke kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms.

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EAS has banked with NatWest for more than 40 years and turned to them for the new investment. Mick added: “The team at NatWest are very much a part of our wider business family.

“They understand the unique needs of our business and have been incredibly supportive of our business.”

Ruth Kirby, senior relationship manager at NatWest, also said: “Edmund A Stephens is a fantastic, family-run business. Mick and his family are ambitious about growing the business further, as this latest acquisition demonstrates.”