THE award-winning York Handmade Brick Company has completed a £100,000 contract and supplied 70,000 bricks for the former headquarters of the Daily Mail on London's Victoria Embankment.

The Alne, Easingwold-based company created a special brick for the redevelopment of the six-storey, Grade II-listed Carmelite House by Quadrant Estates with Orion Capital Managers. The 130,000 sq ft of grade A office space is now fully let.

David Armitage, chairman of York Handmade, said: “This is a very prestigious contract, which really puts York Handmade on the map. Our ability to produce attractive bespoke bricks to order means we are now on the radar of influential architects and builders across the country.

"Carmelite House, overlooking the Thames, is one of the most exciting and enviable office locations adjacent to the brand-new Blackfriars station. The roof terrace and garden provide one of the very best views in London and sets it apart."

The company created a special bright red 460mm by 50mm brick to match those in the Grade 2 rear facade. “This is an unusual long, thin brick, which very few UK manufacturers can produce," said Mr Armitage, "It is rapidly becoming a unique selling point in this country, especially in London, as more architects and developers are attracted to the continental linear appearance of bricks."

Joe Sweeney of London architects Fletcher Priest said they were "very pleased" with the bricks.

The contract followed several other significant orders for the company including 90,000 bricks for the iconic Shard, just across the Thames from Carmelite House; 47,000 bricks for Prince Charles’s Dumfries House project; and 300,000 bricks for Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester.