Strategy

Our strategy supports the delivery of our purpose, helping create lasting legacies. The products we supply help our customers create buildings that will span generations, and our purpose recognises the key role we play in shaping the built environment. 

Our strategy is centred around creating value for our shareholders, our customers, and our employees. We focus on delivery of this through our four strategic priorities:

Strengthen the core
Beyond the core
Sustainability
Safety & engagement

Making our current business even better than it is today.

We have a strong track record of investing in our asset base to grow capacity and improve efficiency. We are coming to the end of an investment programme totalling almost £140m, with our flagship £95m Desford brick factory commencing production in 2023 and our Wilnecote brick factory recommissioning in 2024.

We continue to invest in our core business to achieve the highest levels of operational and commercial performance, embedding best practice in technology and skills to truly deliver best in class efficiency

Providing the products and solutions for the buildings of tomorrow.

Whilst our core business is centred around traditional masonry construction, we believe that façade systems will continue to grow their presence, particularly in mid to high-rise construction settings. Our investment in a brick slip manufacturing facility at our Accrington plant will provide a leading sustainable supply of high-quality UK manufactured brick slips from 2024, maintaining the aesthetic qualities of traditional brick in a modern, lightweight system solution.

Leaving the lightest touch on the world we live in.

Through our three key sustainability pillars of People, Planet and Product we ensure that sustainability remains at the heart of our strategy. Our carbon emissions reduction roadmap set a clear target of 32% reduction in carbon emission intensity against a 2019 baseline, and we have already made strong progress against this aspiration. Plastic packaging reduction remains a further key focus for the business, with dedicated investments made to reduce our plastic packaging consumption by 50% over the next few years.

Creating an engaged, healthy, and safe workforce.

The safety and wellbeing of our people is always our number one priority. As we continue on the journey of our roadmap to zero harm, we are focusing on leadership behaviours and the development of a best-in-class safety culture.

With a foundation built on heritage brands and exceptional people, we invest in the best talent to deliver excellent customer service and technical support, fostering strong relationships with our customers. We are committed to developing and supporting our colleagues, targeting to have 5% of our employees in ‘earn and learn’ positions.

SUSTAINABILITY AT THE HEART OF OUR STRATEGY

We mean it when we say sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. We recognise that our products have a significant carbon footprint, but it is important to remember that this is currently the case with all heavy building materials. Our products will provide quality homes lasting over 150 years and as such are inherently sustainable. We are committed to reducing our carbon emissions by 32% by the end of the decade and then to net zero by 2050.

Our sustainability strategy is completely aligned with our wider strategy. By investing in our factories to make them more efficient, we reduce our energy costs, our emissions and therefore our carbon compliance costs. Our strategy to develop new products also has sustainability at its core. The manufacture of brick slips will use around 25% of the raw material and energy of a traditional brick, although today many brick slips are manufactured by cutting a traditional brick, creating high levels of waste.

Find out more about sustainability