GRS buys out Tarmac stake in business

Construction materials specialist GRS has acquired the 23.7 per cent stake in its business held by Tarmac, ending a long-standing shareholding arrangement for an undisclosed sum.

The buyout returns the company to full private ownership and will support expansion of its sustainable aggregates portfolio, digital materials platform and construction solutions offer.

GRS posted a revenue of £480m for the 2024/25 financial year.

Tarmac originally gained a stake in the firm through a series of joint ventures with Lafarge UK. That relationship continued after the 2013 merger of Lafarge and Tarmac.

GRS has grown tenfold over the past decade and now operates across bulk aggregates, waste and recycling, building products, contracting, freight and logistics, and other associated services.

Jon Fisher, chief executive of GRS, said: “Our long-standing partnership with Tarmac has been mutually beneficial, and our growth strategy has seen GRS transformed both in scale and scope over the past decade.

“The construction industry has also changed a lot in that time, especially in resource recovery and reuse, and the application of technology to improve circularity, efficiency and customer service.

“This deal resets our relationship both with Tarmac and with the rest of the industry, allowing us to look forwards and pursue future opportunities with fresh eyes.”

GRS will retain its aggregate supply agreements with Tarmac and continue to promote inert waste disposal services in Hertfordshire.

GRS Rail Services, its 50:50 joint venture with Tarmac, will continue operating railheads in Birmingham, Luton, Northampton, Peterborough and Wellingborough.

The sites support GRS’s role as a leading aggregates supplier to High Speed 2.

The deal is the second disposal by Tarmac within the construction sector this year.

In May, the firm sold troubled civils contractor Alun Griffiths Contractors back to its eponymous former owner for an undisclosed sum.