The Cavenham plant is located in a sand and gravel quarry owned and operated by Allen Newport, with a capacity of  200 tonnes per hour.

The Wivenhoe plant is located in a quarry owned and operated by Lafarge Tarmac and is rated at 120 tonnes per hour.

Both plants were previously owned by Hope Construction Materials.

Tim Hall, chief executive of Breedon Aggregates England, said: “These acquisitions will enable us to service a new community of customers in Essex and Suffolk and provide additional outlets for our aggregates. 

“We now have a network of nine asphalt plants throughout central England, stretching from Leominster in the west to Norwich in the east.”