Wirral timber firm SticX invests more than £1m in an expansion that will lead to an almost 60% growth in its workforce. Tony McDonough reports
Timber firm SticX has agreed a deal with Wirral Council to acquire three industrial units as part of a £1m-plus expansion that will lead to new jobs.
Based in Kelvinside at Seacombe, SticX is a specialist timber frame company supplying residential developments, social housing, education, student accommodation, and self-build projects.
It offers a range of timber framing across the UK in the Modern Methods of Construction (MMC – factory-built homes) sector, providing various systems, including open panel frames, pre-insulated panels, metal-web joists and roof trusses among others.
In 2023 it approached Wirral Council about acquiring vacant warehouses, owned by the authority, immediately adjacent to its existing facility. Now it has agreed a deal to acquire the buildings.
This move will allow its latest expansion plan to go ahead. The company currently employs 48 people and plans to increase this to 76 employees by 2031 as it at least doubles production capacity.
Director John Maddock, who owns the business along with Christopher Dermody, said: “These are exciting times for SticX. The Government’s commitment to building many more homes using structural timber has given us the confidence to spend over £1m in the expansion of our factory in Seacombe.
“Sticx is firmly rooted in Wirral and our growth will mean opportunities for local people. We have created a local company capable of helping to deliver a sizable chunk of the new homes to be built in the region.
“For those that live in Wirral, the potential jobs and retention of money within the local economy are as important as the new homes themselves.”
Wirral Council’s Economic Growth Service, in partnership with the Liverpool City Region Freeport team at the Combined Authority, has been supporting the company to understand eligibility for incentives provided through the UK Freeport programme.
This can include stamp duty relief, employer’s national insurance relief on new jobs created and capital allowances where eligible.
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As the company is expanding and has increased its floorspace, the business has been able to apply for Freeport Business Rates Relief.
Leader of Wirral Council, Paula Basnett, added: “The sale of these assets, which are surplus to the council’s requirements, have the two-fold benefit of helping an innovative local business expand and bring about new jobs and opportunities locally while also providing some income to the council.”