New facility for Dorset mining firm that supplied stone to Buckingham Palace

A Dorset mining and manufacturing business that has supplied stone to Buckingham Palace and St Paul’s Cathedral has opened a new production facility, creating a number of new jobs.

Portland-based Albion Stone's production line will produce one million low-carbon bricks a year as part of its new Heritage Portland stone range. The bricks are created by cutting blocks of surplus Portland stone into slabs, then into bricks.

The investment, which was supported by a £450,000 asset finance package from Lloyds Bank, will allow Albion Stone to more than double its manufacturing capacity and diversify its product range. As a result of the new facility, the business has hired an extra five team members and is on track to grow turnover by 20% to £10m in 2025.

The new facility will mean the business can process an extra 8,800 tonnes of Portland stone. The business also has plans in place to open a second Heritage brick range manufacturing plant to increase production capacity.

Michael Poultney, managing director of Albion Stone, said: “We’re really excited to be able to take advantage of this stone in a fresh and innovative way, and create a whole new product that will dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of some of the world's biggest and most historic projects.

“The support provided by Lloyds Bank has allowed us to lay down foundations that will fuel the business’ growth for the next five to 10 years. It will inject a new lease of life into our manufacturing process through state-of-the-art technology that will also help us provide a quality low-carbon product to a new set of customers.”

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The fourth-generation family-owned business was founded in 1952 and has been involved in the sector’s switch from quarrying to mining Portland stone. Albion Stone’s masoned and carved stones can be seen across UK historic buildings including St Paul's Cathedral, the British Museum and the new London Stock Exchange.

Daren Rose, relationship manager at Lloyds Bank, added: “It’s so encouraging to see a business like Albion Stone making moves to enhance its growth trajectory by investing in both product and manufacturing. The business has taken creative steps to challenge an issue that’s persisted for years with the results being a huge disruption to the natural stone sector and a problem solver for the built environment."