YORK Handmade Brick Company is supplying 70,000 bricks to the iconic 87-storey Shard, Europe's tallest commercial building, in south east London.

The contract is worth £85,000 and the Alne-based company has created a special brick called Autumn Sunset for this project. York Handmade will also be supplying bricks for the adjacent London Bridge Place development.

David Armitage, the company chairman, told The Press that new trends in architecture were leading to new opportunities for York Handmade, after the business won a £500,000 contract to supply bricks for the new Chetham’s School of Music in Manchester.

He 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.

“It is fantastic that a Yorkshire company should be playing a significant role in the construction of the most iconic building of the decade in London,” he added.

The Shard and London Bridge Place, which are both being developed by the Sellar Property Group, backed by four Qatari banks, are major parts of a wider £2bn regeneration of the area immediately around London Bridge Station. They are scheduled to be completed by spring 2013.