Baggeridge Brick

Baggeridge Brick was a British manufacturer of bricks, and was the UK's fourth-largest manufacturer of bricks during the 2000s. It became a subsidiary of the world's biggest brick manufacturer, Wienerberger AG, in late 2007.

The Baggeridge Brick Company was founded near Baggeridge Country Park in Staffordshire. It was incorporated on 7 April 1944.¹ It first began making bricks in Worcestershire. It was headquartered in Gospel End in South Staffordshire.²

During 1996, a temporary production stoppage was enacted due to a short term collapse in brick demand across the UK's construction sector, which negatively impacted fiscal results for that year.³ In September 1998, Baggeridge purchased rival manufacturer Rudgwick Brick in exchange for £2.25 million.⁴

During 2001, the company launched several new product ranges, including a new fast cladding option.⁵⁶ By 2002, Baggeridge was the final independent brick producer in Britain.⁷

In February 2004, Baggeridge announced that a planned refit of its factory would lead to increased profitability.⁸ During 2005, Baggeridge's profits were negatively impacted by a wider slowdown in Britain's housing market as well as increased production costs, the latter being attributed to higher energy prices.⁹¹⁰

In August 2006, Baggeridge received an offer from the Austrian company Wienerberger AG, the world's largest producer of bricks, to purchase it in exchange for £89.2 million. At the time of the transaction, Baggeridge held a 9 percent share of the British market, making it the fourth largest brick manufacturer in the country; around this time, the wider sector was also undergoing consolidation.¹¹¹² In June 2007, in response to Michelmersh, another brick manufacturer, publicly declaring its interest in launching its own bid for Baggeridge, Wienerberger purchased a majority of the firm's shares and increased its offer to 247p per share.¹³¹⁴ In late 2007, the acquisition was completed after the UK's Office of Fair Trading referred the matter to the Competition Commission.¹⁵¹⁶ By January 2008, it had been fully integrated with Wienerberger's other UK operations, which made it the third largest brick manufacturer in the UK.¹⁷¹⁸

The resulting company is presently headquartered in south Manchester.