CRH has completed the sale of its Keyline builders merchants chain in the UK to the British group Travis Perkins for £219 million (€279 million), slightly lower than the estimates when CRH put Keyline up for sale last January.

The sale, however, will have a dramatic effect on CRH's balance sheet, with its debt/equity ratio falling from an end-1998 level of 60 per cent to no more than 40 per cent, according to CRH's general manager-finance, Mr Myles Lee. The £184 million sterling (€279 million) price tag is equivalent to 59 per cent of Keyline's sales, lower than the 66 per cent of sales that Wolseley paid RMC for its Hall merchanting business last year.

The proceeds of the sale, however, will leave CRH in a strong position to look at future acquisitions, including the Scandinavian cement group, Scancem. However, Mr Lee declined to comment on any potential acquisitions.

CRH decided to sell Keyline as part of a policy to focus on higher margin business.