Forterra, the brick manufacturer, is planning to submit an application that will help significantly expand its brick production plant in Desford, Leicestershire. The company admitted that the new facility will more than double its production to 180 million bricks a year, at a cost of £90 to £95 million. “We
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
Forterra, the brick manufacturer, is planning to submit an application that will help significantly expand its brick production plant in Desford, Leicestershire. The company admitted that the new facility will more than double its production to 180 million bricks a year, at a cost of £90 to £95 million. “We have chosen redevelopment of the Desford site as the favoured option of those considered as it enables us to replace the existing plant with a larger modern facility, providing both additional capacity and the benefit of a lower production cost. This will give us the flexibility to continue to serve our customers and meet their requirements as the market grows,” said Stephen Harrison, chief executive at Forterra. Until the new facility will be built, the existing plant will remain in operation. Subject to planning consent being received, it is anticipated that the new plant will be commissioned in late 2021 and that the capital expenditure will be spent over the period 2019 to 2022. The enabling and preparation costs of £1.5 million have already been committed and included in the capital budget for the current year. “The high level of capacity utilisation in the UK brick industry, together with the attractive long term fundamentals on house building supported by government policies, provides a sound basis for this major investment,” said Stephen Harrison. “The project is a key part of our strategy to grow our core business and pursue manufacturing excellence, driven by our strong customer relationships as well as our people. It will enable us to continue delivering sustainable shareholder value,” he concluded.
Forterra, the UK’s leading producer of manufactured masonry products, as well as a frontrunner in the manufacture of clay bricks, has recently announced a plan to float on the stock exchange. Expected to float within some four weeks’ time, Forterra has laid out plans to submit an application for ordinary shares in the company to be listed in the premium section of the Official List of the FCA as well as to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s main market in the section of listed securities. Credited with bringing the company back into the production of a previously-mothballed capacity sitting at a total of 50m bricks per year, Forterra has seemingly turned the tides, and has also seen the increased capacity for production at its Measham site by some 19m bricks per year. In fact, the past few years have seen a great degree of investment into its production facilities, not solely from a capacity perspective, but also from that of improving the efficiencies of production at a number, including improvements made at the sites in Hoveringham, Hams Hall, Accrington, and the aforementioned site at Measham. Claiming to be the only UK manufacturer to offer a significant range of concrete blocks and clay bricks, Forterra offers a vast range of products under its own brand identity, as well as Fletton brick under the brand of the London Brick. Referred to as one of the leading producer of building materials, specifically in the UK, Stephen Harrison, Chief Executive of Forterra explained: “The fundamentals of our industry are attractive.” Then highlighting how the company has the base in place from which the company can operate onto and into the future, he also went on to comment: “Listing as a business is the next step in realising the significant potential that we see for Forterra.”
