New look for Sunderland's Fred Williamson and & Sons

The well-known firm has been acquired by growing national independent company C Brewer & Sons Ltd.

Originally founded in 1884 by Fred Williamson, the business was first acquired by Joseph Randle Oliver in 1961.

His sons Chris and Anthony, who joined the business in 1974, have helped it grow to a seven-store operation across the North East employing 50 people.

The outlets will retain the Williamson family name and trade as ‘Williamsons by Brewer’.

“Maintaining the Williamson name was very important to our father when he bought the business in the early 60s and is something we have been dedicated to throughout the past 44 years,” said Anthony.

“From its roots in Sunderland we have built the business into a well-known North East brand evolving our services to meet contemporary requirements of our customers.

“We have known Chris Brewer and his business for many years and there are a lot of synergies between the companies. Most notably, Brewers is also family-run and shares our ethos and we are confident that they will help the Fred Williamson name continue to grow.

“We have been really well-supported during the sale process by Ian Gilthorpe and Ashraf Ali of Square One Law and Stephen Torgersen of UHY Torgersens.”

Brewers has 158 UK stores and is the largest independent supplier of decorating materials in the country.

It recently expanded into Leeds and the new acquisition means it will now also have stores across County Durham, Teesside, Tyne & Wear and Northumberland.

Director Simon Brewer said “We are exceptionally pleased to welcome all the colleagues at Fred Williamson into the Brewers family.

“We have acquired Fred Williamson because it is an excellent business and we will invest in the business over the years ahead to ensure it goes from strength to strength.

“Customers will continue to get the same excellent service that they have come to expect from Fred Williamson throughout its long history.”