This article was written by

Follow

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Copyright ©2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

The Ice Co in South Kirkby, West Yorkshire, Europe’s biggest ice factory, has been working around the clock to keep up with unprecedented demand for its ice cubes amid the UK summer 2026 heatwave

Europe’s largest ice factory says the 2026 British summer has been “exceptional” as it continues to produce tonnes of frozen cubes to meet demand from customers seeking respite from the persistent heatwaves. The Ice Co has been operating around the clock throughout the summer months as it grappled with unprecedented demand for the billions of ice cubes it manufactures at its South Kirkby facility in West Yorkshire.

Sales director Nick Brennand said the planning process begins months ahead of summer’s peak , with the factory running at full capacity in snowy January to ensure a month’s supply is stored in its freezing warehouse. However, the 140-strong workforce must then prepare to respond to whatever the British summer delivers.

Mr Brennand said: “This year has been completely exceptional.”

He said: “I think we’re on heatwave number six? We’ve never had such a sustained period of hot weather.

“The good weather started in June and we’ve still got it now in the middle of August, and they’re talking about another one in September?”.

“Normally, we’ll get maybe two to four good weeks in a year, and now we’re looking at 14 to 15, which makes a big difference.”

Mr Brennand said: “What we don’t know is when it’s going to shine and for how long. Sometimes we have hot Easters, sometimes we have hot Septembers, and everything in between.”

He said: “We get to a point in May or June when we are very much in the lap of the gods. If the sun shines, and it’s 35 degrees tomorrow, orders can go up five or tenfold.”

Mr Brennand noted that roughly 85% of people still produce their ice at home, yet when a supermarket or hotel runs short, no alternative product can fill the gap.

He said: “If you’re in a pub or a restaurant and they start rationing ice in your G&T on a Friday night, it’s not particularly nice. You want a nice cold drink.”

He noted that the typically demanding environment of The Ice Co warehouse at South Kirkby has provided welcome relief for some staff during the hottest days in recent weeks.

Mr Brennand said: “Believe me, everybody in the office have gone wandering into the warehouse for 10 minutes to cool down, because it’s minus 18 in there.

“If it’s warm outside, there’s no nicer place to be for five or 10 minutes – but only five or 10 minutes.”

Established in 1860, the firm continues to be operated by the sixth generation of the Marr family, who originally supplied ice to support their fishing enterprise. The company produces approximately six billion ice cubes annually.

This article was written by

Follow

Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Seeking Alpha’s Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.

Wetherspoons has banned its customers from playing music out loud or taking calls on speaker, saying the noise was an increasing problem driving people “nuts”.

The company – which runs 792 pubs and bars across the UK – said that following complaints it has asked customers to switch their phones and tablets to silent or to use earphones.

Polling in recent years by various organisations suggests people are largely opposed to others playing music or taking calls on speaker in public spaces.

Wetherspoons told the BBC that staff will be asked to use “common sense” when enforcing the ban.

“We are not looking to ask anyone to leave a pub if they go against the ruling, but it is an option for managers if they refuse to do so,” the company said.

It follows a stricter, longstanding policy from rival pub chain Sam Smiths which bans no phone or tech use of any kind, in addition to a ban on swearing.

Wetherspoons does not play music in any of its pubs, with chief executive Tim Martin describing them as “an oasis of tranquillity and contemplation”.

The chain does play music in the evening at its 44 Lloyds’ bars. It confirmed that the ban on customers playing music and taking calls on speaker would also apply to those venues.

The number of Wetherspoons pubs has steadily fallen over the last decade from a peak of 955 in late 2015.

The firm has faced a financial challenges during those ten years from the Covid pandemic and inflation.

Last month, it told investors that profit for the year would be lower than expected because of higher costs for food, labour, repairs, energy, and business rates.