The rise of Breedon to become the biggest independent construction materials group in the UK is a gratifying one. The other big operators are foreign-owned or controlled. Breedon, which takes its name from the Leicestershire village containing a historic quarry, was created by Peter Tom, an industry veteran and executive chairman, seven years ago to acquire some assets from Barclays Bank.
It has grown by a number of regional acquisitions — the market is fragmented because it is expensive to transport materials across any distance. Breedon’s big break came with the £336 million purchase of Hope Construction Materials, which completed last August.
It is therefore in the halfway numbers for the first time and the transformational effect is obvious. Revenues doubled to £326.3 million and