Administrators have been appointed to AIM-listed Versarien, developer of the Cementene graphene admixture and partner in HS2 trials of graphene‑reinforced 3D‑printed concrete with the Skanska Costain Strabag JV. The company, which helped Banagher Precast Concrete cut ordinary Portland cement content by 20% in a standard precast mix and signed a materials R&D agreement with Balfour Beatty, entered administration on 6 January 2026. Persistent losses of £4.3m on £2.4m revenue in the latest year and failed investment and M&A efforts triggered the move, with Leonard Curtis now seeking buyers for the business and assets.

Fox Group has appointed former Tarmac national commercial director Richard Kirwin as group commercial director, giving him responsibility for sales, marketing, product development and customer relations across its plant hire, quarrying, aggregates recycling, muck-away and ready-mix concrete operations. Kirwin brings 25 years’ experience at Tarmac, including four years in a UK-wide commercial role covering asphalt, aggregates and concrete supply to major infrastructure schemes. The move follows Blackpool-based Fox Brothers Holdings Group’s acquisition by Stellex Capital Management in September 2024, signalling an aggressive growth and materials innovation agenda in regional civils supply chains.

BlueScope has rejected an A$8.8 billion takeover bid from Steel Dynamics and SGH, which offered A$30 per share and proposed splitting the business, with Steel Dynamics taking North American operations and SGH retaining the rest. The board argued the offer undervalued assets including five North American businesses that delivered about 45% of FY2025 revenue, a steel mill in Ohio located roughly 130 km from a Steel Dynamics facility, and nearly 100 Australian sites generating A$6.95 billion in domestic sales. The decision comes amid 50% US steel import tariffs and BlueScope’s parallel interest in acquiring the Whyalla steelworks with partners Nippon Steel and Posco.