CRH plc

CRH plc is the parent company for an international group of diversified building materials businesses which are engaged in the manufacture and supply of a wide range of building materials and in the operation of builders’ merchanting and DIY stores. The company is incorporated and domiciled in Ireland where it ranks as the largest Irish company.

CRH has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. It has secondary listings on the Irish Stock Exchange (where it is a constituent of the ISEQ 20) and New York Stock Exchange.

History

The company, whose name is an abbreviation of Cement Roadstone Holdings, was formed through the merger in 1970 of Cement Ltd (established in 1936) and Roadstone Ltd (established in 1949).

The company went public on the Irish Stock Exchange in 1973 and soon afterwards started to expand and diversify the spread of its business by acquiring businesses overseas.

Europe

CRH's first international purchase was Van Neerbos, a concrete products producer and distributor in the Netherlands. Other acquisitions in Europe followed throughout the 1970s and 1980s including businesses in the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany,