Displaying items by tag: UK

UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has accepted Breedon Group’s proposed divestments as part of its acquisition of certain assets from Cemex subsidiary Cemex Investments. The agreement will see the divestment of 14 sites - including a cement terminal, two quarries and 10 ready-mix plants - to Tillicoultry Quarries.

The building materials producer said that it “notes the announcement today by the CMA that it has accepted Breedon's undertakings in lieu of a reference to a Phase 2 investigation in respect of its acquisition of certain assets from Cemex Investments Limited.”

UK: The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has written to HeidelbergCement subsidiary Hanson UK to express concern and set out actions to prevent a recurrence of a breach of a market data order for “data disclosed which could have been a proxy for Individual Cement Market Data.” The CMA says that on 11 September 2020 Hanson made a payment in error to the Mineral Products Association (MPA) which involved three pieces of information: the payment; relating to MPA subscription fees, remittance advice relating to the payment; and an invoice following the MPA’s querying of the payment. In the view of the CMA each piece of information breached the Cement Market Data Order, because it contained ascertainable cement volume data information.

Hanson has explained that the breach arose due to administrative error.

UK: Breedon Group has appointed James Brotherton as its chief financial officer (CFO) designate with effect from 1 January 2021. He was previously the CFO of Tyman between 2010 and 2019, prior to which he was Director of Corporate Development for five years. Prior to Tyman, Brotherton worked in investment banking roles at Citi and HSBC, after qualifying as a chartered accountant at Ernst and Young. He is currently a director of the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) and represents the QCA on the Takeover Panel.

As announced previously, Rob Wood, Breedon Groups' current Group Finance Director, will succeed Pat Ward as chief executive officer (CEO) upon Ward’s retirement during 2021. It is anticipated that Brotherton will be appointed to the board as CFO at that point to ensure an orderly transition.

UK: DB Group has supplied its Cemfree concrete product to a site in Birmingham, West Midlands for use by the Environment Agency in a flood defence project. It says that the agency will use the concrete “for kerb bedding and backing over several kilometres in conjunction with various recycled products in an effort to reduce the projects’ carbon footprint.” Cemfree is a low carbon concrete made using ground blast furnace slag (GGBS) and pulverised fly ash.

UK: Breedon Group says that it has agreed to sell 14 sites to Tillicoultry Quarries for Euro13.5m. The sale includes a cement terminal and two quarries in Scotland, and 10 ready-mix plants and an asphalt plant in England. Breedon says it is making the divestment in order to meet the concerns of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) with regard to its takeover of part of Cemex UK’s ready-mix and aggregates operations. Once completed the group expects to be able to finalise its integration of the remaining assets acquired from Cemex into its existing business.

Chief executive officer (CEO) Pat Ward said, "We are very pleased with the outcome of this process and believe it is in the interests all stakeholders. It allows Breedon to realise fair value for the assets disposed of, which, together with the people employed in them, will be in good hands under new ownership by Tillicoultry Quarries."

UK: Cemex UK has invested around Euro0.65m in its UK rail transport network between 1 January 2020 and 31 October 2020, upgrading the Crawley, Cambridge, Dove Holes, Salford, Selby and Sheffield railheads. The company spent Euro0.44m on the Dove Holes railhead upgrade, “extending the rail loading wall to increase the shovel loading and storage capacity and installing track working modifications to provide more flexibility to operations” at the site in Derbyshire. It said that the investments are “part of a rolling four-year development programme, with plans in place to spend similar amounts each year.” This will include further upgrades to the Sheffield and Selby railheads in 2021. The company said that the aim is “to increase safety standards and reliability while providing opportunities to grow and enhance service levels.”

David Hart, Cemex’s Supply Chain Director for UK & France, said, “As a result of the investment into our rail network this year we have been able to grow volumes and make our service more reliable, which in turn has halved our unplanned outage costs and incidents. These developments will also ensure our railheads lead the industry for safety standards and are more robust. Rail is an integral part of Cemex UK’s supply chain network and we are committed to increasing our service further, capitalising on the time, capacity and efficiency benefits this form of transport offers.”

UK: LafargeHolcim subsidiary Aggregate Industries has launched three Lafarge branded packed cement and concrete products: High Performance Concrete; Instant Concrete; and Premium Cement. The company says that the products are “a response to rising demand from merchants and their customers alike to offer more specialised packed cement solutions,” and are suited to various domestic applications.

Product manager Lee Dunderdale said, “Through our on-going engagement with builders and builders’ merchants in the UK, we’ve had growing calls to offer more specialised solutions which offer the level of superior quality our brand has become known for. As such, we’ve invested heavily in creating these additional three products, which have been purposely manufactured to provide our customers with an incredibly easy, quick and exceptional quality cement solution for a range of typical applications. We believe that these new additions - alongside our well-established packed cement range - will see us continue in our position as the one-stop-shop provider for cement product excellence here in the UK. “We’d encourage all merchants and their customers to make use of these high-quality products, which will no doubt enable even greater ease of use and convenience for busy builders and DIYers.”

UK: QMJ Group has announced 9 – 10 March 2020 as the dates for Hillhead Digital, a “multi-stream conference with an innovative exhibition platform that will allow the industry to connect and engage like never before.” Under the heading “New Horizons – Building the Recovery,” the event will feature 40 seminars and panel sessions, providing insights into “themes that will shape and transform the extractives and construction industry over the next decade,” namely digitisation, decarbonisation and infrastructure, as well as 500 virtual booths. Delegates will also be able to arrange live chats and meetings with other attendees.

QMJ Group managing director Richard Bradbury said, “With exhibitors unable to showcase their products and services at physical exhibitions over the last year, Hillhead Digital will provide a safe and dynamic platform for the community to reconnect and share all of the positive developments that will help shape the construction recovery. Our digital-format event will extend Hillhead’s international reach and increase its coverage of the technology sector and younger demographic groups. It will celebrate the enormous contribution the sector makes to the UK and provide an exciting prelude to the physical event we look forward to delivering on 22 – 24 June 2021.”

UK: Quinn Building Products has renewed its cement exclusivity contract for the British market with National Buying Group (NBG) until the end of 2024. NBG will sell the cement under Quinn Building Products’ new Mannok brand.

Great Britain regional sales and marketing director Lee Gillman said, “Today’s announcement is a very clear signal of our intentions going forward under the Mannok name. We will bring with us everything we do best, which means we will continue to offer quality products and service to our customers and demonstrate real commitment to the merchants who are key to our company’s success, through strong working partnerships with bodies such as NBG. We are delighted to make this commitment with NBG, who have played a key part in the increased sales of cement we have experienced since launching our extended cement range in 2018. It has been a fruitful partnership for all involved, and one which we are very happy to continue for a further three years.”

UK: Breedon Group plans to appoint Rob Wood as its Group Chief Executive in 2021. He is currently the Group Finance Director. Recruitment for a new Group Finance Director is underway. This will follow the retirement of current head Pat Ward who has held the post since early 2016.