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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.

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.

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Nifty Metal dropped half a per cent amid an overall bearish market sentiment on Tuesday, with NMDC shares falling more than 2% to lead losses. Hindustan Copper shares lost over 1%, after rallying around 8% in the previous session.

Today’s fall in metal stocks comes as metal prices corrected after hitting multi-month highs the previous day. Copper prices fell as the market digested a string of disappointing economic data from China, and the US-Iran truce expired without a longer-term peace deal. This comes a day after the red metal hit its highest in more than six months on Monday amid worries around availability on the London Metal Exchange, where inventories are at their lowest since February.

Gold and silver prices also declined in the domestic market, although the precious metals extended gains in the international market.

Also read | Gold slips below Rs 1.55 lakh/10 gm on MCX, but global prices extend gains. What’s next?

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Should you buy metal stocks?

Metal stocks are reacting to a decent recovery in underlying metal prices, said Sunny Agrawal, Head of Fundamental Research at SBI Securities. He noted that copper, aluminium, zinc and silver prices are up by 6%, 4%, 8% and 12% respectively over the last month.
“Investors can selectively participate in a few names like Nalco and Hindustan Zinc. Traders should adhere to stop loss to factor in sudden correction in the underlying metal prices which is a function of many factors including dollar index, global demand supply etc,” Sunny Agrawal from SBI Securities said.

Technical view

One of the better ways to assess the outlook for a basket of stocks is to study the corresponding sectoral index, as it provides a broader representation of the underlying group, said Hitesh Rathi, Technical Analyst at Angel One. “In this context, the Nifty Metal index had been trending lower since May this year, with the sectoral index forming a 100% bearish pole on its 0.25% × 3 point and figure chart. This resulted in a correction of over 10% in the index, translating into a sharper decline across several metal stocks,” he explained, adding that the technical setup now appears to be turning constructive.

The sectoral index seems to have established a strong support zone in the 12,500–12,400 band, underscored by the formation of a weak breakout on its daily 1% renko chart, he added. Following this development, the index has already rallied by over 5% in a relatively short period, indicating a meaningful improvement in momentum.

The combination of a well-defined support zone and the bullish breakout formation suggests the presence of strong demand at lower levels and points towards a potential reversal in the broader trend, according to the analyst. “That said, given the sharp upmove witnessed recently, chasing momentum at current levels may not offer the most favourable risk-reward proposition. Instead, any retracement towards the 12,800–12,700 band should be viewed as an opportunity to accumulate select metal stocks, with the broader sectoral setup now turning increasingly constructive,” Rathi concluded.

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(With inputs from agencies)

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)