Administrators from BDO LLP took charge of the companies last week and the group has ceased to trade. Previously known as David Ball Group, DB Group was founded in the 1970s and produced specialist sands for cement testing and fuse manufacturing, which it continued to do to the present day.

The company expanded its offering in the 1990s with the acquisition of waterproofing product, PUDLO, and Cemfree in 2015.

Cemfree reportedly offered carbon savings of up to 80% in concrete. According to the company, the Cemfree ultra-low carbon binder is a proprietary Alkali-Activated Cementitious Material (AACM) that reacts with pozzolanic materials to create a concrete with embodied CO2 that delivers up to 85% lower emissions than OPC-based concretes. Investment and development of the range of cement-free mortar and bricks had reportedly consumed internal reserves of cash.

The latest results posted for DB Group observed that funds from PUDLO and other Group businesses “continued to be used to fund to finance Cemfree development and commercialisation, acceleration of which pushed the group into operating losses financed from internal reserves.”

The future of DB Group’s 56 staff is currently unknown. Latest figures to December 2022 showed a turnover of £5.5m. generating a pre-tax loss of £170,000.Benjamin Peterson and Lee Causer of BDO LLP were appointed joint administrators of the Company on 21 February 2024 and DB Group has since ceased to trade.