Shareholders approved the acquisition by the construction company, Readymix, of Finlay, the Northern Irish building materials company, at an extraordinary general meeting in Dublin yesterday.

Mr John McNerney, managing director of Readymix, said after the meeting that while business in Northern Ireland was more buoyant than was popularly perceived, the company would be looking to expand the Finlay business into the Republic.

"The main difficulty we have with Northern Ireland is on the pricing level. It is a very competitive market," he said.