Aggregate Industries acquires to build solid foundation in North West market

Leading regional concrete producer Eco-Readymix has been sold to Aggregate Industries.

The family owned company, established in 2004 with sites in Ruabon (near Wrexham) and Ellesmere Port, was acquired for an undisclosed sum by Aggregate Industries, a member of the Holcim Group.

The acquisition will reinforce Aggregate Industries’ position in the North West market and also help establish its place in the UK mortar market.

Founded by managing director Gary Billington in 2008, the family-run business has over 30 years’ experience working with customers including house builders, groundworkers and civil engineering firms producing Ready to Use mortar and Dry Silo Mortar, ready mix concrete, liquid and traditional screed, concrete masonry blocks and aggregates.

In the last set of available accounts to March 2023 the company made pre-tax profits of £2,214,297 on turnover of £14,677,966, a substantial increase from the previous year.

The company boasts strong sustainable credentials. Its Wrexham site is almost entirely powered via a biomass system alongside both wind and solar power. It employs 52 people across its sites.

Dragan Maksimovic, chief executive of Aggregate Industries UK, headquartered in Coalville, Leicestershire, said: “As a business, it has clear sustainable values very much in line with our own and will strategically add to our strong footprint in the North West.

“This also marks our entry into the UK mortar market with a knowledgeable and ambitious management that has multiple synergies with our own. The acquisition supports our long-term strategy to continue to grow our business in order to become the UK’s leading supplier of sustainable construction materials and solutions.”

Law firm Pannone Corporate advised the shareholders of Eco-Readymix while accountancy firm Mitchell Charlesworth provided tax and financial advice. The Pannone team included corporate partner Tom Hall, Bez Borang and Sam Roberts. They were supported by James Harris, partner in the real estate team.

Hall said: “This is a fantastic deal. A regional business that is anchored in a traditional sector, but is forward-looking in its approach, particularly around sustainability and the environment.

He described the buyer as a “heavyweight” and said: “We will watch with great interest as the combined businesses make an even greater mark on the North West market.”