Building materials giant CRH is expected to spend over €1bn this year on bolt-on acquisitions, with outlay in the first quarter alone already topping €600m.

CRH has taken its committed spend for the current year to around €8bn on the back of another international mega-deal.

DOES your dinner plate leak lead; do your stainless steel saucepans deposit chromium; does your strainer add carcinogens; do your plastic containers pull polymers from your fatty rashers; or does your non-stick melamine lining release formaldehyde?

Britain's biggest accounting software firm, Sage, has said its pre-tax profit for the six months ended March 31 was ahead of expectations at £87m (€130.4m), showing growth of 17% on the same period the previous year.