Ennstone: Marwyn thought to be leading would-be buyers

Marwyn Materials and other potential buyers are thought to be running the rule over Ennstone, the quarrying, aggregates and asphalt group with £200m of debt and an equity value of about £250m.

Marwyn is a shell company that only floated on AIM (the junior portion of the Stock Exchange) in May.

Peter Tom, who built up Ennstone’s rival Aggregate Industry before selling it to Holcim in 2005, has been put in charge at Marwyn as chairman, his remit being to establish a £500m-plus business from a standing start – i.e. entirely by acquisitions.

Another well-known name at Marwyn is that of Simon Vivian, chief executive. It was Vivian who took over at Mowlem after Sir John Gains retired, leaving him to face the painful task of bringing Mowlem’s financial problems to the surface.

Vivian had previously been chief executive of Hanson UK.

It is understood that the two would run Ennstone in the event of a successful take-over, despite Tom now being aged 70.

Vaughan McLeod, Ennstone’s executive chairman founded Ennimix, his first group in 1967 and sold it in 1995 after receiving a multi-million offer from Lafarge that he simply couldn’t refuse.

But despite being a millionaire, McLeod missed the challenge of running a company and in 1996 he started for a second time and Ennstone was formed.

Ennstone's creditor bankers are reported as being “actively involved” in Marwyn’s move because of its outsized debt.

Marwyn funds its acquisition by a combination of debt and equity. Finding the fire-power for Ennstone is not thought to be an issue.

Marwyn’s philosophy is that market-leading companies can be built in business sectors that are fragmented. Other arenas it has entered on the back of this strategy include nut-free chocolate, film distribution and drugs testing.