Aggregate king pursues new crown

A UK aggregate king is looking to complete a hat-trick of building materials conglomerates at the age of 81.
Quarry Products / September 20, 2021
By Guy Woodford
Peter Tom is looking to complete a hat-trick of building materials conglomerates at the age of 81

Peter Tom, who has already built up two building materials conglomerates in his career, is now aiming for a third, with The Times newspaper reporting he is preparing to list a new vehicle on the stock market to acquire building materials companies.

“There are a lot of family businesses out there who are finding themselves asset-rich and cash-poor. People are beginning to think about what’s on the other side [of the pandemic] and about what happens next,” he told the newspaper.

Tom retired as executive chairman of Breedon in 2019 after playing a key part in turning the Breedon on the Hill, Leicestershire, England-headquartered firm from a shell company into a British market leader. He had previously founded Aggregate Industries by merging Bardon and Camas in 1997 before later selling it to Swiss sector heavyweight Holcim.

The octogenarian was chairman of Aggregate Industries when he first retired in 2007, only to return to the industry to mastermind Breedon’s rise.

Tom’s new acquisitions venture will see him resume his working partnership with David Williams, formerly of Marwyn Capital, another key player in the Breedon success story.

A passionate Leicester Tigers supporter, Tom is executive chairman of the Premiership rugby union club, for whom he used to play in the front row for in the 1960s.

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