UPMARKET ice cream makers, Hill Station of Calne, are bidding to join the cream of the crop in a £2.5million stock market flotation.

The company, owned by Gina and Charles Hall of Marlborough, currently employs 12 and operates from the town's Porte Marsh Industrial Estate.

But by the end of this year, they hope to float on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) and begin trading shares to raise enough money to build a bigger factory, and in doing so, produce even more ice cream.

American by birth, Mr and Mrs Hall, from Axford, near Marlborough are former investment bankers, who set up Hill Station seven years ago after moving to the UK and noticing a niche in the market for upmarket ice-cream.

The ice cream is named after the hill stations built across the tropics to provide cool retreats from the sweltering heat of the lowlands and cities.

Based on this concept, the Halls have married tropical fruits and spices with Britain's best dairy products.

Vanilla is still the most popular flavour and it won first prize in Country Life Magazine's British farmhouse ice-cream competition.

But there is also cardamom, cinnamon, stem ginger, bittersweet chocolate, mango and lime, toasted coconut and dark rum, spiced coffee, dark roast coffee, and most recently, banana muscovado.

Their factory supplies ice cream to Harrods and Harvey Nichols as well as Sainsbury's Tesco and Waitrose and airlines including Virgin and Qantas.

Despite fierce competition from ice-cream giants Haagen-Dazs and Ben and Jerry's, they have proved their ice cream is set to stay

Now they're aiming even higher.

Company spokesman, Emma Kane said: "Most of the shares in the company are currently owned by Gina and Charles and their friends and family and they decided to float on AIM to further expand the business.

"We are currently in the stage of marketing company shares to investors and then the investors will subscribe for the shares.

"When this period is over, the company shares will be listed on AIM and trading can begin, with people buying and selling shares in the company.

"This is very big news and very good for the company with profits likely to raise £2.5million that will enable them to build a new, larger factory."

Ms Kane said she was unable to divulge the location of the new factory, but revealed that the Hall's were planning to stay in the same area.

"It will be quite near, but much larger," she added.

"We will be moving all operations to the new factory, while creating some new jobs, and will retain all our current staff."

Ms Kane added that the workforce had all been consulted on the plans, but said she was unable to say whether staff would also benefit from the trading of shares.

"Super premium ice cream, which Hill Station produces is the fastest growing area in the ice cream market," she added.

"The floatation will enable the company to increase its sales and continue doing very well in the super premium ice cream market."