IRISH PROPERTY entrepreneur Philip Marley is clearly made of stern stuff.

Next Tuesday, Dublin-based building systems and products company Metic Group, which Marley chairs, will float on the AIM junior stock market in London at a time when stock markets globally are in the toilet and economies are in recession.

It specialises in the design, engineering and construction of architectural glass for large building projects.

Its 55.3 million shares will debut at 28.5 pence, giving it a market value of £15.7 million.

It has raised about £4 million in advance of the IPO.

Marley, the founder of Ely Property Group, which is now part of the Irish listed company Newcourt, is Metic's biggest shareholder with 36.9 per cent.

Given the Irish company's exposure to the building trade, this looks like an odd time to float.

But with no exposure to the collapsing residential market, contracts secured for the London Olympics and an 18-month pipeline of work, Marley is clearly confident that he can buck the market.