A family-run county Armagh business operating for more than forty years has gone into administration.
Administrators BDO have been appointed to run Cootes (Concrete Products Ltd) on the Redrock Road in Markethill following a High Court hearing earlier this week.
The company was set up in 1978 by husband and wife team David and Lynne Coote and is understood to employ around 20 people.
Gordon Best, managing director of trade group the Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland, told the Belfast Telegraph: “It is a well-known firm in the Armagh area and this does come as a surprise,” he added.
“It may reflect the state of the construction market and the competitive nature of low prices in the industry. I have said before that there is a race to the bottom in the construction industry and the prices of contracts, and that is very much driving down the prices of materials.”
The administration comes as a former quarry at Lisbane in Tandragee, near Markethill, goes on the market for £2m.
Read more news:
Man shot a number of times through house window
Dad missed baby scan at Craigavon Hospital because it took over an hour to park!
Concerns grow for missing man, 50, last seen in Portadown
Weather warning in place as temperatures set to plunge below zero
European arrest warrant obtained for suspect in prison officer David Black murder
Men arrested following series of violent incidents in Portadown
Boy praised for reaction after finding shotgun cartridges in abandoned building
Co Armagh farmer handed suspended prison sentence