Humber Manufacturer Acquires New Warehouse
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. Manufacturing & Engineering Magazine | The Home of Manufacturing Industry News
Planning Application Submitted for Warehouse Extension
A planning application has been submitted by real estate investors M&G Real Estate (M&G) to extend and remodel its distribution warehouse in Redditch that is let to Pilkington Automotive, part of the NSG Group. “Offering NSG Group the opportunity to grow their premises in Redditch is a great example of our proactive asset management approach being realised, particularly given the existing building was designed with flexibility for future expansion,” said Chris Jeffs, director, investment management at M&G Real Estate. The planning application follows an agreement with NSG Group to relocate its automotive manufacturing operations from Kings Norton, amalgamating its manufacturing and distribution operations within a single 320,000 sq ft unit in Redditch. Work on the development is still subject to planning consent, but if approved it will start later this year to allow for NSG Group to take full occupation in Summer 2020. NSG Group’s existing Redditch distribution business will remain operational throughout and a new 20-year lease has been agreed on the extended premises. The proposed development will provide a scheme that meets NSG Group’s current and future needs ‘as a modern, high quality combined manufacturing and distribution facility’. Rob Purcell for NSG Group, said the Kings Norton premises in south west Birmingham has served them well for many years but they needed more modern facilities to continue to develop its glass products. “This is a very important project for Pilkington Automotive and will make Redditch the consolidated centre for our automotive operations in the UK vehicle automation and electrification initiatives,” he said. The new facility, Purcell said, would be the company’s flagship operation as a centre for excellence in automotive glass and would support 200 jobs.
