The £740m sale will see 600 branches and distribution centres change ownership to STARK which is headquartered in Copenhagen and has  operations in the Nordics, Germany, and Austria.

STARK Group will acquire and operate Saint Gobain Building Distribution Ltd, which includes Jewson the general builders’ merchant, local brands Gibbs & Dandy and JP Corry in Northern Ireland, the specialist brands Jewson Civil  Frazer and Minster, as well as International Timber.

The acquired business is expected to generate net sales of around £2.3bn this year.

STARK Group is among Europe’s fastest-growing retailers and distributors of building materials achieving annual pro forma net sales of around £7.75bn including the  British acquisition.

Group CEO Søren P. Olesen said: “We have a strategy that successfully focuses on professional craftsmen and the renovation and  maintenance market, which this acquisition fits very well into.

“In 2019, we bought Saint-Gobain’s  German distribution business, and there are many similarities in this acquisition. We will do our  utmost to develop, grow and invest behind the company making it the professional craftsmen’s  preferred choice in the UK. We have acquired a business with whom we can continue our growth  journey.

“Despite the current tough macro-economic environment, the fundamental drivers for the  renovation and maintenance market in the UK with its large need for energy renovation in the  coming decades are attractive.”