Tino Stone enters creditors' scheme of arrangement

Creditor banks of Spanish natural stone producer Levantina, including Prudential, Bank of Ireland and BNP Paribas, have taken over 82% of the company’s capital to avoid administration. The remaining 18% is still in the hands of current shareholders, Charterhouse, Impala and AXA. The shuffling in the shareholding comes following a significant drop in the construction of new houses in Spain. Sales have dropped by half, around €250million.

The markets for aggregates and ready mixed concrete in Europe have declined by 25% since the recession hit the region but improvement is underway, according to a new report from BDS Marketing Research. The report said that trading conditions continue to be difficult in countries such as Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Greece but analysis of 20 European countries shows conditions are improving. Production across the 20 survey countries in 2009 reached 2.8billion tonnes – the lowest figure since the start of the

Italian exports of stone and marble products rose 7.4% to €835.4 million in the first half of 2012, according to a survey carried out by Italian stone industry trade fair Marmomacc. Exports went up by 23% to the US, from €101 million in 2011 to €124.7 million in 2012. Exports to Russia rose by 3.8%, and those to Germany from €72.3 million to €78.5 million - an 8.6% increase.