John Sisk & Son has agreed to acquire Farrans Construction from building materials provider CRH.
Farrans, which employs 625 people, is a Northern Ireland-based contractor operating in building and civil engineering across sectors including aviation, water and renewable energy in the UK and Ireland.
The deal, which remains subject to regulatory approval from Ireland’s Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, will see Farrans continue to trade under its own name, with operations on existing projects unaffected.
Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Sisk is Ireland’s largest construction and civil engineering business, with operations in Ireland, the UK and mainland Europe.
In the 2024 CN100 list of the top UK construction firms by turnover, John Sisk and Son sat at number 56, with revenue of £350.7m.
The company said the acquisition would strengthen its ability to deliver large-scale infrastructure across the UK and Ireland.
Sisk chief executive Paul Brown said: “The acquisition of Farrans represents an excellent opportunity for Sisk to broaden its sectoral reach across the UK and Ireland.
Their strong reputation and track record in delivering complex infrastructure projects aligns well with our strategic growth ambitions. This acquisition creates significant opportunity to capitalise on the growing aviation, energy, water and utility sector markets, leveraging the combined capability and highly skilled workforce.”
Farrans managing director Dominic Lavery said: “This is a positive development for Farrans, and we believe that Sisk is the right strategic fit for our business as we look to the future. We’re pleased that Farrans’ people, culture, and brand will be retained, and we look forward to working together to deliver for our clients across the UK and Ireland.”
Farrans is part of Belfast-based Northstone (NI), which formerly included building materials arm Northstone Materials and access systems manufacturer Cubis Industries. In May 2023, the business was restructured so that Northstone became the immediate parent company of Farrans only, with the other divisions transferred to separate entities.
Parent company CRH announced in December 2022 that it was considering divesting Farrans as part of a strategic review.
In January, Northstone said that Farrans remains profitable.
Its accounts for the year to 31 December 2023 showed turnover of £512.5m and pre-tax profit of £8.2m.
The figures combine five months of trading from all three businesses prior to the restructure and seven months of Farrans-only results, meaning no direct like-for-like comparison is available.
By contrast, the 2022 results covered a full year of all three businesses, showing turnover of £540m and pre-tax profit of £7.2m.
As at the end of 2023, Northstone (NI) reported £156m in assets, worth £20.7m after liabilities were deducted. In 2022, the combined net assets of the three businesses stood at £151.2m.
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Colin Marrs