Ringway buy Whitemountain

RINGWAY Group Ltd have acquired the English trading activities and assets of White Mountain Quarries Ltd from Northern Ireland-based Lagan Holdings for an undisclosed sum. The new business, which includes White Mountain Asphalt, Whitemountain Roadstone and ARM, will trade under the name of Whitemountain Roadstone Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ringway Group.

The acquired assets include coating plants in Dagenham, Peterborough and Ipswich, together with civil engineering, surface treatment and anti-skid operations. The Dagenham plant, which has wharfage on the river Thames, was replaced last year, increasing capacity to more than 200,000 tonnes per annum, while the ARM surface-dressing operation has exclusive access to the BP Armacote binder process.

With a turnover of approximately £15 million and some 80 staff, Ringway say Whitemountain will make a major contribution towards the continuing expansion of the Ringway Group, which has annual sales of £160 million and more than 1,400 employees. The existing personnel at Whitemountain will transfer to Ringway and the business will continue to operate through its existing depots.

Describing the activities of the two groups as complementary in terms of geographic coverage and expertise, Ringway group chief executive Eric Cross said: 'This acquisition strengthens and reinforces Ringway's position as a major player in the UK highway maintenance sector, as we now have access to our own source of supply for roadstone and anti-skid materials.'