€1.5bn war chest for possible acquisitions

CRH has spent €60m on acquisitions and investments — covering seven "small" transactions — since the beginning of 2014 and claims to have approximately €1.5bn available to spend over the next year and a half.

Speaking after the building materials giant’s AGM in Dún Laoghaire yesterday, chief executive Albert Manifold said that management would continue to search for opportunities in its core markets of mainland Europe, the Americas and Asia.

CRH spent €720m on acquisitions and investments last year.