Insulation giant’s sale of its buildings division is called off

THE SHEFFIELD-BASED insulation giant SIG has cancelled the £37.5m sale of its building solutions division to Kingspan Group.

SIG announced the sale last October.

It said it was conditional on the approval of the UK Competition & Markets Authority (CMA).

The CMA referred the disposal for a Phase 2 investigation on April 21, following the outcome of its Phase 1 decision on April 7. The sale and purchase agreement regarding the disposal was due to expire on July 7.

SIG said it anticipated the CMA’s Phase 2 investigation would conclude in October.

Accordingly the date in the agreement would need to be extended in order for the Phase 2 investigation to be carried out.

Because of the prevailing market conditions, SIG said it has not been possible for the company and Kingspan to agree commercial terms for the extension of the agreement.

As a result both companies have agreed to terminate the agreement with immediate effect.

The disposal will therefore not proceed.

SIG said it is now reviewing a number of options regarding the building solutions business.

It added that it will provide further updates on what it plans to do with the division when it is appropriate.

Kingspan is the leading UK provider of standard foam sandwich panels.

They are used as insulated cladding on commercial and industrial buildings such as large waste facilities.

In April, the CMA said Kingspan already owns a number of businesses that supply these products in the UK, including Joris Ide.

It added that the building solutions division also sells a range of insulation and specialist construction products through a variety of businesses.

They include Steadmans, Trimform, Advanced Cladding and United Roofing Products.

In April, the CMA said: “Kingspan and Building Solutions are two of only three key suppliers of standard foam sandwich panels in the UK.

“They would only face serious competition from one other UKbased supplier – Tata Steel – after the deal.

“Competition from suppliers of products imported from outside the UK and suppliers of other products sometimes used as insulated cladding is also very limited.”

SALE CANCELLED: SIG had wanted to sell its building solutions division to Kingspan Group.