A FIRM which employs 200 workers, including staff at a mining business in Blaenau Ffestiniog, has been sold as part of a £455m deal for its parent company.

Welsh Slate, the world’s leading supplier of high-quality slate products, is based in Penrhyn Quarry near Bangor, but also operates in Blaenau Ffestiniog after acquiring the assets of Omya’s slate mineral processing business in 2010.

Its parent company Lagan Group, which bought Welsh Slate from Alfred McAlpine in December 2007 for £31m, has now announced that the group had been sold to the UK-based Breedon Group.

A spokesman for Breedon said it saw Welsh Slate as a “core part” of the purchase of the group.

“We have a track record of investing in and developing the businesses that we buy,” the spokesman said.

While no concrete assurances on any job losses following the buyout have been made, Breedon said that the purchase of Lagan “will significantly increase Breedon’s scale and profitability” and that the company “greatly values the skills, knowledge and expertise of Lagan’s existing management team and employees”.

Stephen Jacobs of Breedon told the Cambrian News that it was “too early” to give details about the future of jobs at Welsh Slate following the purchase of Lagan, but added that Breedon has a “track record for investing and growing businesses we buy”.

“We see Welsh Slate as an integral part of the business,” he added.

Unite union said that meetings had been held with staff ahead of the buyout.

“Breedon are a well-established company with a good track record,” a union spokesperson said.

“We are hopeful this will be positive for Welsh Slate and the future of the sites in north Wales.”