CRH buys Austrian building materials chain

BUILDING materials giant CRH boosted its presence in central Europe yesterday with the acquisition of a leading Austrian chain.

The company bought Quester, Austria’s biggest retailer of building materials with 31 branches and 770 staff. The value of the deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval, was not disclosed.

Quester, which is a family-owned business, generated revenues of €250 million and profits of €2.9m last year. It has around 10% of the Austrian building materials market and 20% of the market for tiles. CRH has made a series of acquisitions in the central and Eastern European region, which contains several large markets that are growing more quickly than major economies in the west of the continent, such as Germany and France.

The company has a strong track record in acquisitions and had already signalled plans to expand in markets where it already has a presence. The company said earlier this month that it had spent over €230m on deals in the first six months of the year, including €63m on seven major transactions, but this was a lower level or merger and acquisition activity than in previous years.

Additional reporting Bloomberg.