Michelmersh Brick Holdings was established in November 1997 to enable the acquisition of Michelmersh Brick & Tile and Dunton Brothers.

Dunton makes traditional bricks at Ley Hill, Buckinghamshire and Michelmersh Brick & Tile is a long established business manufacturing premium quality bricks and tiles operating from a site near Romsey, Hampshire.

In February 1999, the business of Charnwood was acquired in Leicestershire. Charnwood has an excellent reputation for high quality handmade bricks for building and restoration projects. Charnwood Bricks were recently used in the restoration of St Pancras Station.

In February 2000, the Company acquired Blockleys in Telford, the leading producer of specification wire cut bricks and clay pavers. The 100 acre site also includes a quarry and landfill operation and some 80 acres of land on which a phased residential redevelopment scheme has been approved in outline by the local planning authority.

The Group has consistently invested in its plant to maximise the efficiency and quality of its product.

In 2004 shares were offered to the public as the business was successfully floated on the AIM Market.

In 2009 Hathern Terra cotta was established at our Charnwood plant continuing over 100 years of tradition in the manufacture of faience. Already work has been won at the Savoy Hotel and Victoria and Albert Museum.

Our most recent acquisition is Freshfield Lane Brickworks, the leading manufacturer of clamp-fired stock bricks based near Haywards Heath. The business has built a strong reputation for excellence in the production of distinctive, clamp fired, multi-coloured stock facing bricks and pavers targeted at the niche premium segment of the market.

The Group now employs over 300 people at its five plants and has an annual capacity of some 70 million pieces.

The latest acquisition has reinforced our position as Britain's Brick Specialists. Our skills, service, range of products and well invested plant combine to provide distinctive products not only that we can be proud of, but that also give value and pleasure to our customers, those involved in design and construction and to generations to come.


http://www.mbhplc.co.uk/about-us

thoroughly agree
it never has great volume, so perhaps it's just fallen off people's radar

A good little company.

Thieves are stealing antique bricks from walls in East London to sell on the black market
Business Insider UK Finance
By Adam Payne | Business Insider UK Finance – 5 hours ago

Police in London are investigating more than 30 cases of bricks being stolen from buildings like churches and cemeteries in eastern boroughs of the capital.

The bricks in question are Georgian-era London stock bricks, which in the 18th century were the cheapest available but today are bought for sizable sums on the black market.

These bricks have substantially increased in value in recent years, as residents in strict conservation areas looking to build extensions are told by councils to do so in keeping with authentic Georgian style.

The Telegraph reports that each brick can be sold for as much as £15 on the black market.

Police have received reports of thefts in Waltham Forest, Newham, and other boroughs in the eastern reaches of London, according to The Evening Standard.

St. Patrick's cemetery in Leytonstone has been targeted on two occasions within the last month, while the caretaker at St. Mary's church in Leyton chased off a group of would-be brick thieves.

The cemetery's superintendant, John Sears, told The Telegraph: "The last thing in the world you think is going to get stolen is your wall."

As well as churches and cemeteries, family homes have been targeted by thieves, with one resident claiming to have had over 100 bricks pinched from their wall in a matter of days.

"It's a strange phenomenon," Clyde Loakes, councillor for Waltham Forest, told The Evening Standard, "but it does not diminish the distress when vans are literally driving into people’s front gardens in broad daylight.

"There are examples of people driving into the garden walls to dislodge as many bricks as possible, scoop them up and then drive off."

The renewed demand for London stock bricks is the result of some London councils insisting residents who plan to perform building work in listed areas must use materials that match the original architecture.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Martin Gaine, chief executive of Just Planning, which defends homeowners who have had planning applications rejected, said:

If you get permission for an extension, you will have to use materials that match the originals. You don't want to fall foul of the rules — there is a risk the council will say they don't match and then they will declare the extension is unlawful. The original stock bricks are rare and expensive and in hot demand and they want something that looks original and old.

The elusive brick comes in different shades of yellow depending on the clay from which they were made, and has a distinctive black patch.

This spate of unusual crimes comes as traders Michelmersh Brick Holdings report the average selling price of their bricks has increased by 9% on last year.

/brick-maker-forterra-eyes-450m-float

michelmersh-brick-to-benefit-from-strength-of-new-build-market

From IC - Interim results Mon 25 July

Half-year Report

RNS


RNS Number : 0460F

Michelmersh Brick Holdings PLC

25 July 2016




25 July 2016



Michelmersh Brick Holdings Plc

("MBH", the "Company", or the "Group")



Half Year Results for the six months ended 30 June 2016



Michelmersh Brick Holdings Plc (AIM:MBH), the specialist brick manufacturer, is pleased to report its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2016.



HIGHLIGHTS



Financial Highlights:

§ PBT increased to £2.6 million (H1 2015: £2.5 million)

§ Operating profit of £2.6 million (H1 2015: £2.7 million)

§ 4% Increase in EPS 2.57 pence (H1 2015: 2.47 pence)

§ Turnover steady at £15.3 million (H1 2015: £15.3 million)

§ Net cash balance £2.7 million against a net debt of £0.8 million at June 2015



Operational Highlights:

§ Good performance in a flat market

§ Average selling prices increase 2% over H1 2015

§ Landfill License completes consultation period which will lead to economic realisation of Dunton site

§ Commenced kiln replacement project at Michelmersh - expected completion in autumn 2016

§ The Group ended the period well ahead of intake target with a forward order commitment over 47 million bricks

§ Well positioned for a stronger H2 2016 operational and financial performance





Commenting on the results, Eric Gadsden, Chairman of Michelmersh Brick Holdings Plc, said:



"The Company performed well in the first half despite the expected weaker market, and is on track to deliver its targets for the full year. We continue to invest in our plants to increase efficiency, which over the medium term will enable us to outperform the market with on-going creative development of products, investment in process and encouragement of the efforts of its employees. The business is profitable, cash generative and supported by a strong and long-term asset base"



EU Referendum Outcome

Whilst it is too early to know the full long-term impacts of the UK's exit from the EU, the Board feels that the Company is well positioned to manage any effects within the brick manufacturing and housing industry. The Board do not believe the outcome of the referendum in itself results in any material change in the outlook for the Group's near term financial results or future growth prospects.

56.50p

Share price has almost Half in price from the high, late last year and now is more in tone with EPS and on a prospective PE of 10 if it manages to keep going.

As I said before the shares seem far too overvalued at those earlier prices and only supported by a good NAV.

To have a premium rating needs a high growth, than this company is not able to do recently, with hardly any rise in sales and profits, and 5% on EPS is not good enough to be highly rated.

A buy in this weeks IC. They remain confident that they will meet full year expectations. A good healthy rise today.

Recovering well, another 7% rise today.

Good rise again today. Over sold. New houses need bricks.

Think your right dc, this could be another good un!

To date one or two good results coming from building firms and suppliers.

Economic News


Thu, 25 August 2016

Brick shortage could worsen housing crisis, estate agents warn



(ShareCast News) - A shortage of bricks in the UK will continue to restrain supply and force house prices ever higher, according to a housing industry body, while the Brexit vote could further hamper building levels by squeezing imports and numbers of skilled construction workers.
The construction sector needs 1.4bn bricks in order to resolve the housing shortage, according to a report by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), which is equivalent to the total amount of bricks need to build all the houses in Leicestershire.

In 2016 the average UK home is made up of 5,180 bricks and the report said to resolve the housing shortage of 264,000 units, it would need 1.4bn bricks.

A shortage of bricks in the past ten years has contributed to the constriction of the housing supply that has in turn led to the sharp house price appreciation of the last decade.

Last year, two-thirds of small and medium-sized construction businesses faced a two-month wait for new brick orders, with almost a quarter waiting for up to four months and one in six waiting six to eight months, which was partially due to the slowdown in housebuilding following the recession.

NAEA managing director Mark Hayward, said: "As well as freeing up more land to ensure we can build the right sort of houses in the right places, it's crucial we have the right materials and skills to do so.

"It seems a simple consideration, but the fact that we don't have enough bricks to meet demand has a very real effect and holds up the process from beginning to end."

Brick supply declined between 2008 and 2013 and partially recovered in 2014 and 2015, according to the report.



Smaller houses, but bigger demand

Even the shrinking of the average house by 46% in the last century has not been enough to counter growing demand for new homes. In 2016 the average home is 83 metres squared, compared to 153 metres squared in the 1920s.

NAEA said this was due to the families being smaller and also due to financial restrictions as house prices have risen 45% over the last decade, buyers have had to settle for smaller properties.

Hayward added: "Houses may be getting smaller but we are needing to build more of them than ever so ultimately our needs for bricks is greater than before.

"We need investment in the sector to boost production, and housebuilding needs an image overhaul, to become a more attractive career prospect for school leavers and graduates. Until this is addressed, we might as well resign ourselves to a life time of astronomical prices and falling levels of home-ownership."

The association is concerned about the effects of the UK voting to leave the European Union will have on the supply of bricks coming into the country. Hayward said there was also a skills shortage in the UK for construction based jobs. Most labourers come from the EU and the Brexit result could see greater restrictions on foreign workers coming into the UK, which could also compromise the country's ability to build homes.

"We're concerned that the impact of the EU Referendum means this problem could get worse as we rely on the import of brick components from the EU and of course many of our skilled labourers come from there too."



Brick industry takes umbrage with estate agents findings

However the Brick Development Association (BDA) disagrees with the report from the NAEA.

BDA chief executive Andrew Eagles said "with absolute authority there is no shortage" of bricks in the UK and the data the report used is out of date as it was from April 2015.

The BDA, which represents 99% of brick manufacturers in the UK, said the there was a significant increase in brick production over the last 15 months, using data from the Office for National Statistics.

Eagles said: "The challenges the brick industry faced in 2014 when there was a dramatic increase in housebuilding are now behind us and the industry is confident it can meet the growing demand for its products in housing and other construction projects."

According to the BDA, in the second quarter of 2016 brick deliveries grew by 10.4%, compared to the first. Deliveries in June were 7.4% higher than in May.

The share price fell 16.67% to 52.50p at 1008 BST on Friday.

re - long lock away
" The board feel a speedy recovery of average selling prices by the beginning of next year is unlikely."

Something has gone wrong on the bricks business ......


Michelmersh Brick Holdings set back by falling prices

- Michelmersh Brick Holdings, an AIM listed specialist brick manufacturer and landfill company, have fallen behind on achieving their expected pricing gains in the second half due to average selling prices falling short and a rise in competition.

According to the firm, the UK brick market has been experiencing falling output and a small increase in dispatch volumes as manufacturers respond to market demand.

The board feel a speedy recovery of average selling prices by the beginning of next year is unlikely.

These changes in the materials supply market have led the group to resource the carbon additive used in brick manufacturing at Freshfield Lane. The process has been successful however higher output yield is likely to taper off going forward, in line with historic trends.

The landfill licence for the former Dunton brickworks has been granted and the associated work completed. The board expects an economic return on this asset in the near future.

The board has revised its financial expectations in terms of revenue and profit for the current year to a similar level to the previous period.

On the plus side, cost savings have been identified to help mitigate the effect of negative market trends and the order book remains strong at 5% ahead of that at the half year.

Operational issues at the Michelmersh site at the half year have been resolved to return the sire to its full operational capacity.

Cash flow is "strong" and the group expects to meet or exceed its previous cash expectations at year end.

"The board reaffirms that strong long-term housebuilding and RMI market fundamentals remain in place for the foreseeable future and that the Group is well positioned to grow market share in the coming years," the group said in a statement.

rubbish figures ..... i have them in my sipp so shall just have to sit on them until the new dawn

very disappointing given the housing shortage and thus, one would have thought, the requirement for ever more bricks

Not surprised.

The entire construction sector is in downtrend.

Yesterday Travis Perkins warned and now this it tells me the construction sector is on a downward trend.

Cynic - it's not as though any new technology has pushed Bricks aside....yet....so it's only Uncertainty in the Market, IMHO . . . . at today's prices...51p has to represent excellent LT value . . . .
If the Market stumbles to Post 2008 levels then this is definite Buy - around 15p - so there is some way to go . . . hopefully it won't get there . . . Good Luck.
EDIT-(3Jan2017)- spoke too soon ! . . . although recent fall may be Issue of Equity for Employee Options ( did we now this was Lurking?)
....Rather the UK-Gov is to build (2017 with Chinese help!) five factories to make "Kit-homes" - I'm guessing the finish won't be real-bricks, rather a sand-plastered, or grit exterior, with weatherboarding to break large swathes of flat areas. sp 46p
EDIT (31Jan2017)- Sp 52p falls despite extra cash - but it was already an asset, probably already in the price. What it says is that this is the only News.... and one that once gone, it's Gone.