Humber-based manufacturer has acquired a new 42,000 sq ft warehouse in Scunthorpe. For this acquisition Birkdale Manufacturing Group received a £400,000 Growing the Humber Business Investment Grant from North Lincolnshire Council to ensure the expansion could go ahead. The company manufactures garage doors, roller shutters, composite doors, awnings, pergolas and window blinds. “In the last few years Birkdale has invested heavily on new machinery, which allowed us to increase our capacity to cope with extra demand. This created workspace issues so to cope with growth, further investment and larger floor space was required,” said Birkdale owner Simon Sturman. “With the help of North Lincolnshire Council’s business development team, we’ve been able to find premises and secure grant money, which added to our own £1.4 million of investment allowing us to bring forward our expansion plans.” Having worked in partnership with the council to secure funding from the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership, Birkdale has now entered into a lease-purchase agreement to move sites on the Queensway Industrial Estate. Marketed by PPH Commercial for £1.25m, the detached premise has a purpose-built warehouse and distribution facility along with internal office and staff facilities. “Some local authorities can borrow money for as little as 1 per cent, so it makes sense to invest this in commercial property which can offer an annual yield of anything from three to as much as 7 per cent. In my opinion, North Lincolnshire Council should be praised for adopting this brave and innovative approach to their investment strategy. Not only does it offer good returns, but it also brings added security to the local economy,” added Duncan Willey, the divisional director who completed the sale for PPH Commercial.

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