A FORMER manufacturing complex belonging to Tyrone firm Acheson and Glover has gone on the market for £1.5 million.
The plant on the Aghnagar Road near Ballygawley, was part of the company’s pre-cast division, which went into administration in November 2018.
The subsidiary had employed 162 people when it shut its operation in Magherafelt during February last year.
Acheson and Glover initially blamed Brexit for a slump in orders for its concrete products.
The workforce within the division had fallen to 105 when administrators were called in last November, including 85 at the remaining Ballygawley plant.
The firm said demand for its products had continued to fall by 35 to 40 per cent.
It later emerged that Acheson & Glover Precast Ltd went bust owing creditors around £3m.
Acheson and Glover Ltd continues to operate from Fivemiletown, manufacturing paving products, bricks, blocks and limestone aggregates.
Now the firm’s former complex between Ballygawley and Cabragh has gone on the market.
The complex includes 52,723 sq ft of industrial space in two large units spread over a 3.5 acre site close to a major factory operated by Swedish engineering group Sandvik.
According to commercial property agents Lambert Smith Hampton, part of the property has been leased to Northstone since January.
It's understood the lease is due to run for five years.
The construction materials group, which owns Farrans, recently declared a surge in profits for its Northern Ireland business.
Despite a 0.2 per cent dip in turnover to £374.5 million for the year to December 2018, Northstone (NI) Ltd saw its operating profit rocket by 2,690 per cent from £305,000 to £8.5m during the same period.
According to its latest accounts, the workforce at the group, which is ultimately owned by Dublin-based construction giant CRH, grew from 1,247 to 1,388 during 2018.
