Quarrying and materials group Breedon Aggregates has hit out after being forced to put its development plans on hold to deal with a year-long regulatory probe.
The firm, which has its Scottish headquarters at Ethiebeaton in Angus, has been locked in negotiations with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Competition Commission (CC) since completing a £34 million move for the Scottish assets of Aggregate Industries last April.
The probe was sparked by competition concerns, and an interim report produced by the CC last month indicated that customers in three areas of north-east Scotland could face higher prices as a result of the two companies being brought together.
A final determination on what Breedon must do to alleviate concerns the most likely outcome being a forced sale of its ready-mixed concrete plant in Peterhead and asphalt plants in Aberdeen and Inverness is expected from the CC next month.
However, chief executive Simon Vivian yesterday aired his concern at the time involved and expense incurred by Breedon as it went through the regulatory process.
“The whole review process took the best part of a year, absorbing a considerable amount of time for our small head office team as well as incurring significant legal costs,” Mr Vivian said.
“This was exacerbated by the significant duplication of effort involved in providing much the same information to the CC as we had already provided to the OFT,” he added.
“Whilst we appreciate the need for the authorities to look carefully at regional and local competition issues, we cannot help feeling that the process is unnecessarily cumbersome particularly for small, acquisitive companies like ours.
“It is to be hoped that the forthcoming combination of the OFT and CC into the new Competition and Markets Authority will lead to a significant streamlining of the review process.
“The review necessitated a pause in our business development programme, but we continue to see plenty of opportunities and expect to make further progress in 2014.”
Mr Vivian was speaking as Breedon reported a significant increase in profits in 2013 after three years of battling “severe headwinds”.
The firm saw total revenues rise from £173.4m in 2012 to £224.5m last year, and pre-tax profits jumped by more than £5m to £11.01m.
Executive chairman Peter Tom said: “It is pleasing after several very difficult years to report that our markets at last showed encouraging signs of life in 2013 as the long-awaited economic recovery began to take hold.
“This helped us to produce a very encouraging financial performance and to make significant progress in developing the business and positioning ourselves to deliver further value for our shareholders in the years ahead.”
Shares in the company closed up 1.25p or 3.18% at 40.50p.
The company is the largest independent aggregates business in the UK, with around 400m tonnes of minerals in its reserves.
It employs more than 1,000 people across its various British sites.