The Belfast-based Lagan Group, one of the biggest privately-held businesses in the North, has moved to sell off its quarrying and asphalt operations on both sides of the Border, businesses which have a combined turnover of about £75 million (€111.86 million).
A deal is not likely for several weeks, but an information memorandum for potential bidders is understood to be in the advanced stages of preparation. Assuming a sale goes ahead, the beneficiaries will be multimillionaire brothers Kevin and Michael Lagan, who own and manage the diversified construction materials and engineering group. They have expanded the business from the quarrying operation their father Peter established in 1960.
The assets now on the market are understood to contribute about a quarter of the revenues at a group, whose combined sales last year reached £299 million.
The turnover in 2005 was up from £230 million in 2004, a year in which Lagan's pretax profit rose to £21.8 million from £10.8 million.
Though best known in the Republic for the 500-acre cement plant it operates at Kinnegad, Co Westmeath, the group's other activities are significant.
They include property development, home-building, brick manufacturing and other construction interests. An international division has operations in Europe, the Caribbean, Asia and South America.
Lagan's 10 Irish quarries have an annual output of more than 3.6 million tonnes. With a combined production capacity of approximately 2.2 million tonnes of coated material, the group ranks among the largest Irish suppliers of asphalt materials.
