Breedon Aggregates has agreed to acquire Hope Construction Materials for £336 million, creating a single leading independent producer of cement, aggregates, asphalt and concrete.The purchase will extend Breedon’s UK geographic footprint, opening up markets in London, the South and the South East, and providing national coverage and balanced regional concentrations.Peter Tom, Breedon’s executive chairman, commented: “Under Amit’s leadership, Hope has delivered an outstanding performance over the last three years and has become a formidable competitor in the UK market. Together we will be an even stronger business, complementing one another geographically, operationally and culturally.”Amit Bhatia, Hope’s chairman, said: “I believe strongly in Peter's leadership and in the potential of the enlarged business and am delighted to be joining the board”The enlarged group will contain more than 310 operational sites, including a cement plant, 58 quarries, 26 asphalt plants, 211 ready-mixed concrete and mortar plants, three concrete block plants, nine depots and wharves, eight regional contract surfacing operations and one traffic management services company.Completion of the acquisition is conditional on the approval of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and is currently expected to take place in the second quarter of 2016.