One of the biggest suppliers of aggregates to the HS2 project has said the opening of a new regional office in Suffolk is just part of a major expansion strategy for the business.
Warwickshire-based construction materials group GRS has opened a new regional base in Bury St Edmunds as it seeks to capitalise on a “housebuilding and energy infrastructure boom” in the East of England.
However, GRS also plans to open a rail freight terminal near Ipswich, marine wharves in two locations on the East Coast, and a new facility for bagging materials to supply East Anglia’s builders’ merchants, as part of a multimillion-pound expansion plan.
With turnover of more than £500 million, the firm has been among the UK’s fastest growing companies in The Sunday Times Top Track 250 four times in recent years, and GRS bosses are confident of a new wave of growth, particularly in Suffolk but also Cambridgeshire, Essex and Norfolk.
It said the annual demand for aggregates in the region look set to exceed 20 million tonnes in the years ahead.
The new office will house the Major Projects team alongside colleagues from the company’s aggregates and waste trading business. Also based there will be regional representatives of GRS subsidiaries including earthworks and civils contractors ISC, ground stabilisation specialists Soil Science (acquired last year), and rail freight venture Rail Stone Solutions.
Chief executive Jon Fisher said: “There’s huge potential for growth across East Anglia – probably greater than any other part of the UK – and having a base in Bury St Edmunds gives us a platform to do business in this part of the world.”
GRS has been involved in numerous national infrastructure schemes such as Hinkley Point C in Somerset and is the largest supplier of aggregates to the HS2.
Last year, GRS completed a major refinancing deal with Wells Fargo Capital Finance, advised by Interpath Advisory. The new package provided GRS with the financial firepower to continue its growth trajectory to increase revenues at 20 per cent per annum.
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