Breedon buys stake in skid-resistant stone supplier

The UK’s largest independent aggregates business Breedon has bought a 50% stake in the owner and operator of Tan-y-Foel quarry near Welshpool.

The quarry will provide Breedon with an interest in 3.4 million tonnes of high ‘polished stone value’ aggregates which have skid resistant properties on highways.

Sources of high PSV aggregates are very scarce and Tan-y-Foel has some of the highest quality reserves in the country.

High PSV stone has a high skid resistance and is in great demand for surfacing roads with heavy traffic flows.

The deal to buy the stake in H V Bowen includes its interest in a ready-mixed concrete plant.

The business will continue to trade as H V Bowen and will be jointly managed by Breedon Aggregates England Limited and the Bowen family, who have owned and operated the quarry for more than 70 years.

Breedon already owns a sand and gravel quarry near Mold in North Wales and the joint venture with H V Bowen expands the company’s operations into mid-Wales for the first time.

Tim Hall, chief executive of Breedon Aggregates England, said: “We’re pleased to have secured access to some of the highest quality PSV stone in the country, which will provide a ready supply of this key aggregate to our asphalt plants.

“It will also enable us to extend our reach into an important new market for aggregates and readymix.”