Michelmersh enjoys float

Floating on AIM - the junior section of the Stock Exchange - in May has been a roaring success for Michelmersh Brick.
A producer of hand-made specialist bricks and tiles, the £5m raised by the flotation has resulted in the modernisation of all of the group's four plants.
Also, 50 employees will get a stake in the company thanks to a "share options down the line" policy which rewards them for their loyalty to the company, founded in 1997 by a pair of brick enthusiasts.
Michelmersh's maiden AIM results (six months to 31 May) show turnover steady at £8.7m, but pre-tax profits of just £13,000 (£680,000 in 2003).
Eric Gadsden, chairman, and Martin Warner, managing director, first stepped into the world of bricks seven years ago when they saved Dunton Brothers, based in Chesham, Buckinghamshire, from going under.
Growth has resulted from the acquisition of Michelmersh Brick and Tile and then Charnwood, which provided bricks for the new British Library and Paternoster Square redevelopment.
The group's fourth element, Blockleys, was acquired in 2000 when Ennstone wanted to divest the brick-making element within a larger acquisition.
"When you buy broken businesses the inevitability is that the kit has been run down," said Gadsden. "This autumn, we will be running the sites the way we want. That means more bricks for the same labour and that means reduced production costs."
Since flotation, Michelmersh has attracted a wide spread of small shareholders.