Breedon Group, the construction materials group, has acquired BMC Enterprises Inc. for an enterprise value of US$300m (£238.1m). BMC is a supplier of ready-mixed concrete, aggregates and building products headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. In the twelve months ended 31 October 2023, BMC recorded unaudited revenue of US$178.9m and unaudited adjusted EBITDA of US$35.5m. Rob Wood, Chief Executive Officer, said: “The acquisition of BMC represents a compelling opportunity for Breedon to launch our third platform in the USA. BMC has an excellent performance track record over a sustained period and is positioned in an attractive market for future growth. “As a high-quality aggregates and concrete business that has grown at pace, organically and through acquisitions, with a strong management team and deep local knowledge, BMC’s culture and values are fully aligned with the Breedon business model. “The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for shareholders while allowing Breedon to maintain a conservative and flexible balance sheet to pay dividends and make further bolt-on acquisitions across each of our platforms as opportunities arise. “We are delighted to welcome our BMC colleagues to Breedon and look forward to working with them to build Breedon’s presence in the USA.” The news comes as Leicestershire-based Breedon announced its audited annual results for the year ended 31 December 2023, in which it delivered record revenue of almost £1.49bn, while pre-tax profits slipped slightly, by 1%, to £134.4m. Rob Wood said: “The record results we delivered in 2023 are a real accomplishment and something I am extremely proud of. The challenging trading conditions our team faced required agile and bold responses which they took with discipline and determination. “As a result we kept our workforce safe and well, reinforced our market positions and were recognised by our clients for the quality of our products and services. For this I sincerely thank the whole team.”

Ibstock, the manufacturer of building products, has seen revenue and pre-tax profits slide in its results for the year ended 31 December 2023.

Revenue at the Leicestershire firm was down 21% to £406 million, in comparison to £513 million in 2022, as sales volumes “reduced in line with UK domestic brick deliveries.” Ibstock noted that “despite this challenging backdrop, selling prices remained stable through the year.”

Statutory profit before tax, meanwhile, dipped from £105 million in 2022 to £30 million. During the year a comprehensive operational review was undertaken to reduce fixed cost and align capacity to near term demand expectations. The resulting restructuring programme included a number of actions to temporarily reduce capacity across the business, as well as the permanent closure of two clay brick factories.

Headcount reductions and fixed costs savings with an annualised value of £20 million are to be achieved, with around £5 million of this captured in 2023 and the full amount to be achieved in 2024.

Activity in the early weeks of 2024 has been in line with subdued levels seen in the latter part of the 2023 year for Ibstock, with the company noting: “While remaining cautious, we currently anticipate a degree of improvement as the year progresses.”

Joe Hudson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have delivered a resilient performance for the year in what have been very difficult market conditions, and I am proud of the way that colleagues across the Group have responded in such challenging circumstances.

“Our results reflect both continued strong execution and the difficult but decisive actions taken to reduce headcount and realign capacity with near term market conditions.

“The organisational changes implemented during the second half of the 2023 year have created a leaner, more customer-focused business, which will deliver an enduring benefit for years to come.

“In doing so, we have also created a platform to accelerate innovation, with a particular focus on the sustainability of our products and processes. In combination with the strength of our brand and unrivalled product portfolio in the UK construction marketplace, we believe this will unlock significant value over the years ahead. 

“As we focus on doing the right things to respond to market conditions in the near term, we are moving towards completion of the key investment projects that will underpin our growth as the market recovers.

“Our investment in new low cost, efficient and more sustainable brick capacity at our Atlas facility, and a significant capacity expansion in the fast-growing brick slips market, are on track and will support our medium-term growth objectives.

“Activity in the early weeks of 2024 has continued to reflect the more subdued demand environment experienced throughout the latter part of 2023. As we look further ahead, it is clear that market fundamentals remain supportive, with significant unmet demand for new build housing in the UK.

“The Group’s conviction in its medium-term prospects is underpinned by an expectation of a return to normalised conditions within its core markets combined with the incremental returns generated from our significant capital investment programme. Although the timing of this recovery is uncertain, Ibstock is well positioned to benefit and to deliver on our growth targets over the medium term.”

Chesterfield-based Internet of Things (IoT) business Konektio has been placed into administration. The news comes after Tern, the investment company specialising in supporting high growth, early-stage, disruptive IoT technology businesses, announced in November 2023 that it would not invest further in Konektio, as it had “lost focus.”

Revealing the fall into administration to the London Stock Exchange, Ian Ritchie, chairman of Tern, said: “Whilst it is obviously very disappointing that Konektio has been placed into administration, it was clear to the Tern board that the Konektio business had lost focus in the second half of 2023. We therefore decided not to invest further in Konektio in November 2023 and Tern’s stake was significantly reduced.

“The nature of investing in early-stage technology businesses is that there will inevitably be the occasional failure, but this is a first for Tern. I am happy to report that the remainder of Tern’s portfolio companies continue to perform well and I look forward to reporting on their continued progress in due course.”

In March 2023 Konektio, which specialises in digital transformation solutions for the industrial and manufacturing industries, moved to Chesterfield’s Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre from nearby Clay Cross. The business raised £2.1m in December 2021 from both the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund (NPIF), managed by Mercia and Foresight Group, along with Tern plc. The company was previously known as InVMA.

Nottingham City Council has set its budget and made significant and much opposed cuts for the coming financial year, 2024/25, at a meeting of all councillors (on 4 March). The council had faced a budget gap of over £50m for 2024/25 due to issues facing councils across the country including increased demand for children’s and adults’ social care, rising homelessness presentations and inflation. This has meant savings of over £36m need to be made between 2024/25 to 2027/28 in order to set a balanced budget, which is a legal requirement for all councils. In addition, the council, has been granted Exceptional Financial Support (EFS) from the Government of up to c£66.143m – £25m for the current year, 2023/24 and £41.143m in 2024/25. EFS is not additional funding from Government but allows the council to use capital resources, including from asset sales, to fund revenue costs for services. The council’s element of the Council Tax will increase in 2024/25 by the full 4.99% indicated by the Government, made up of 2.99% Council Tax and a further 2% precept specifically towards Adult Social Care costs. In January, the council was issued with new statutory instructions by the Improvement and Assurance Board then overseeing the authority, which meant it had a legal duty to maximise the savings brought forward as part of the budget-setting process in order to minimise the amount it required in Exceptional Financial Support from Government. A team of three Commissioners has now been appointed for the council by the Government to replace the Improvement and Assurance Board, which includes a Lead Commissioner, Tony McArdle; a Commissioner for Finance, Margaret Lee; and a Commissioner for Transformation to be nominated in due course. The Commissioners have been granted extensive powers and will oversee the full range of the council’s improvement activities, including strategies to secure the medium and long- term financial sustainability of the council and plans to transform front line services. Councillor Audra Wynter, the council’s Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Finance, said: “Local government in this country is facing an unprecedent financial crisis. Nottingham was one of 19 councils confirmed by the Government as needing Exceptional Financial Support to balance their books. “Seventeen of these are councils with social care responsibilities like Nottingham, highlighting the huge pressure we are all under to meet the rising cost of vital care services for our most vulnerable people. “The council’s financial reserves have been impacted by decisions it has made in the past and this has affected our financial resilience. However, since 2013/14, the council’s Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from Government has reduced by nearly £100m every year. “Over the same period, Nottingham’s ‘Core Spending Power’, a measure used by Government, has reduced by over 28% in real terms according to SIGOMA, the Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities. “The council has been faced with having to make some extremely difficult decisions but we have a legal duty to set a balanced budget. Our focus will be on continuing to provide important statutory services but other discretionary services that we know local people value will be significantly affected by the savings. We will do our best as a council to mitigate the impact as much as we can.” Savings planned for 2024/25 budget include:

• Reviewing Library Service provision while maintaining a comprehensive and efficient service offer appropriate to the needs of citizens.
• Removing the council contribution towards Area Based Grants to the voluntary and charity sector and grants to arts organisations and cultural sector.
• Reducing both the Community Protection and Resident Development services. The requirement to deliver duties relating to environmental enforcement and anti-social behaviour will be met.
• Reviewing the operation of community centres seeking to remove all council contribution from their operation.
• Re-structuring and reducing tiers and overall capacity across the Adult Social Care Assessment function.
• Closure of Colwick Park Activity Centre.
• Ending school uniform support for eligible families if the Household Support Fund grant does not continue.
• A reduction in council staffing levels of more than 500 full-time equivalent posts. Every effort will be made to limit compulsory redundancies through targeted voluntary redundancy.