Lagan Group boss receives death threat

Grant Prior 10 years ago
Share

The Lagan Group has pulled-out of plans to buy a rival roof tiles business after chairman Kevin Lagan received a death threat on the day his wife died.

Lagan was planning to buy the former Quinn group roof tile business.

The County Fermanagh business was established by bankrupt former billionaire Sean Quinn and employs about 20 people.

The Quinn Rooftiles business was being sold by Aventas, the re-branded Quinn Group.

Lagan’s chairman received a written death threat last week.

It followed a series of attacks on Lagan Group property after news of a potential deal first surfaced.

The Lagan Group told the Belfast Telegraph: “No business could operate when criminal threats against operational decisions put employees, directors and their families at risk.

“Over the past number of months we have been engaging with the local workforce and management to secure a stable and sustainable future for the employees in the former Sean Quinn Rooftiles business now owned by Aventas.

“During this time various parts of the Lagan Group (and indeed businesses not connected to the Group) have sustained a series of criminal attacks on property and plant causing substantial financial damage.

“These were executed with the sole purpose of creating a toxic atmosphere of fear and intimidation in order to illegally dissuade potential investment and investors into the area.

“We have repeatedly said that it was only a matter of time before such attacks switched their focus from property and plant to people.

“Last week, on the day his wife died, Mr Kevin Lagan, chairman of the Lagan Group, received a letter containing a threat that should the Rooftiles business sale proceed, the purchasers ‘would not live to see the benefits of the sale’.”

Since Sean Quinn lost control of the Quinn Group three years ago there has been a series of attacks on the group’s companies or those who have expressed an interest in buying them.

Kevin Lagan was sent a bullet in the post in February 2013 following plans to launch a joint venture with Quinn Building Products.

An Aventas plant was also hit with a fire bomb last month.

The company said: “The underlying strategy seems to be one of  damaging value, striking fear into our employees and to discourage any genuine  prospective acquirers of our businesses.”

 

 

Latest news

Coroner in training call after scissor-lift tragedy

Practical rescue training needed after worker crushed to death
13 hours ago

Architecture boss joins Caddick as Design Director

Former DLA Architecture director Jason Clarke to boost contractor's design offering
8 hours ago

Vinci Building and FM arms rack up big losses for second year

Inaugural consolidated accounts for all Vinci UK operations slip into the red
22 hours ago

Plan lodged for two Birmingham student towers

Sama plans nearly 2,000 student rooms in 48 and 41 floor buildings at Lancaster Circus
22 hours ago

Galliford Try delays annual results announcement

Accountants want more time to go through books
22 hours ago

CITB urged to give everyone a say over need for levy

Consensus process slammed as a "charade"
23 hours ago

Subcontractors wanted across north London

Constructionline event to highlight work opportunities: Register now
22 hours ago

Latest construction hotspots appear outside London

Research reveals fastest growing areas for contract awards
22 hours ago

Bachy Soletanche rejigs business in new growth plan

Business split into two regional and a major projects division
1 day ago

BAM, Arup and Amey win £2bn Network Rail contract

Largest single contract by value ever awarded by Network Rail.
4 days ago

Luton airport £2.4bn expansion decision delayed

Application decision deadline pushed back 3 months to January 2025.
4 days ago

Plan in for 2m sq ft Hertfordshire data centre campus

Proposed £3.75bn construction project near M25 would sustain 500 jobs
4 days ago

Balfour Beatty wins £363m electricity grid upgrade job

Work to start next year on 29km Bramford to Twinstead high voltage project
4 days ago

Winchmore wins £10m brickwork package with Lovell

Specialist will lay nearly 1m bricks on Thamesmead job
4 days ago

Green light for £125m Camden student scheme

Work to start later this year on site next to iconic Roundhouse
4 days ago

Strong revenue and profit growth puts Kier on firm footing

Revenue recovers to £4bn again with profit ahead almost a third to £68m
5 days ago

Galliford Try steps-in to build £57m Banwell bypass

New contractor found after original winner Alun Griffiths walked-away from job
5 days ago

Hotel M&E specialist Gallant files administration notice

Gallant Building Services is working on hotel, flats and care home projects
5 days ago

Torsion to deliver £43m Leeds student scheme

Construction to start next month on latest project for joint venture
5 days ago

Go-ahead for London Barbican office to flats project

London developer Hub aims to create over 170 co-living homes
5 days ago

Traditional builders dominate £800m MMC framework

20 out of 22 places on modular housing deal go to local contractors
6 days ago

Dubai contractor sells 15% stake in Costain

ASGC sells stake for £38m after investing £25m in fund raise four years ago
6 days ago

Amazon to invest £8bn in hyperscale datacentres

Data centre sector heats up as cloud computing giant AWS unveils big expansion plans
6 days ago

Plan lodged for Square Mile’s fifth tallest tower

54-floor 99 Bishopsgate tower will provide 1 m sq ft of office space
6 days ago

Morgan Sindall pulls off contracts league double

Firm swoops to top monthly and 12-month contracts league rankings
6 days ago

Hadden Construction goes into administration

66 jobs lost at £30m turnover Perthshire contractor
7 days ago

McAleer & Rushe wants to meet subcontractors across Scotland

Register now for Meet the Buyer event: Full list of suppliers wanted
6 days ago

Construction output slide in July ends two-month growth spurt

Recovery stutters along as construction activity dips 0.4%
6 days ago

Laing O’Rourke finance chief to join plastic products firm

Rowan Baker to join Essentra in November
6 days ago

Tight cost control returns Laing O’Rourke to profit

Group margin back to 1.9% as orders swell to record £10.8bn
7 days ago

Contractor services