DERBY-based quarrying company Breedon Aggregates has agreed a £34 million deal to buy 11 Scottish quarries and a raft of asphalt and concrete plants from rival Aggregate Industries as it positions itself to bid for work on the A9 upgrade and the controversial Aberdeen western by-pass.

The move will see 150 people added to Breedon's existing 350-strong Scottish workforce as well as 11 quarries, of which six are active, seven concrete plants, four asphalt plants and two concrete block factories.

Breedon, which already has 18 quarries, 11 asphalt plants and 23 concrete plants in Scotland, has refused to rule out job losses but said it planned to expand the business as it also eyes up work in the renewable energy sector.

It has launched a £61m share issue to fund this purchase and a potential £19m acquisition in the English Midlands.

Chairman Peter Tom said, "These acquisitions are con- sistent with our long-term aim of becoming the lowest-cost operator in our chosen markets. We believe they will put us in an even stronger position to benefit from any economic recovery."

If completed, the purchase from Leicestershire-based Aggregate Industries, part of Swiss group Holcim, will include sites across Grampian, Tayside, Highland and the Hebrides from the Garbh Eilean asphalt plant on North Uist to a concrete plant in Dundee.

It will add 206 million tonnes of mineral reserves, doubling Breedon's current holding and giving it 76 years' worth of materials.

Breedon, whose existing sites range from the Morefields quarry in Ullapool to Orrock quarry in Fife, said: "The directors believe there is potential to improve the performance of these operations through rationalisation and new contracts, including the upgrade to the A9 north of Perth and the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route."

Asked whether rationalisation meant job cuts, a Breedon spokesman said: "When we buy a business we buy it to grow it. This is our biggest acquisition to date." He said it was premature to make predictions.

"Nobody can say for certain there are never going to be any rationalisation of people. Nobody knows what the market is going to look like in six to 12 months," he added.

Last July, Breedon bought Speyside Sand & Gravel Quarries, including its quarry at Rothes Glen, near Elgin, but in November it lost out to Indian giant Mittal in a battle for assets being sold due to the merger of Anglo-American's Tarmac and French company Lafarge.

Mr Tom, who ran Aggregate before setting up Breedon three years ago, said: "The previous acquisitions have added significant value to our core business and this gives us confidence to repeat this with future deals."

Shareholders will be asked to approve the fundraising at a meeting on April 26.

Breedon, whose Scottish operations are run from Dundee, owns a 37.5% stake in BEAR Scotland which runs the bulk of the country's trunk road networks.

"The directors are hopeful transport budgets in Scotland may increase slightly from their recent low levels," the company said.