Historic Derby firm moves onto Eagle Park

Stephen Salloway; John Blount, chairman, Ivygrove Developments; Gerry Beetles, chairman, Davis Derby; Dave Randle, operations director, Davis Derby

One of Derby’s longest-standing companies is moving back onto Eagle Park.

Davis Derby, the materials handling tech firm which can trace its roots in the city back to 1840, is returning to Alfreton Road after a quarter of a century at its Chequers Lane site.

The deal was brokered by Salloway Property Consultants and Eagle Park’s owners, Ivygrove Developments, adapted its new premises.

Davis Derby executive chairman, Gerry Beetles, said: “With the guidance of Salloway Property Consultants, we are now looking forward to returning to Alfreton Road on the Eagle Park flagship development.

“We are delighted with the help and co-operation of Ivygrove Developments in adapting the new premises to our requirements and meeting our timetable for our relocation during July for the next phase of our business.”

Meanwhile, national chain, Howdens Joinery, has followed Screwfix by moving into the former Draka site which Ivygrove bought in 2014.

Salloway Property Consultants managing director, Stephen Salloway, said: “Thanks to the imagination of Ivygrove, Eagle Park has turned into a great success story.

“When Draka left with the loss of hundreds of jobs, Ivygrove took the rare risk of building speculatively.

“Eagle Park has been successful because of Ivygrove’s flexibility and its excellent location and I am delighted that we, at Salloway Property Consultants, have been able to play a part in selling to some high-quality businesses.”

The first transaction at Eagle Park was to Pendragon, which required an existing 10,000 sq, ft unit for pre-delivery and inspection of cars.

This was followed by Robinson Structures which bought two and a half acres of land to construct new workshops for its future requirements for fabricating steel.

Both deals were conducted before detailed planning was submitted to erect 150,000 sq ft of industrial units.

Phase one construction, consisting of ten units of 5,800 sq ft each, commenced in early 2017 and only one unit remains available.

Phase two, consisting of 90,000 sq ft , includes three 25,000 sq ft modular buildings, which each containing four units.

John Blount, chairman of Ivygrove, said: “I am delighted by the success of Eagle Park which is easily the best investment Ivygrove has ever made.”

He added: “One of the most pleasing transactions is the relocating of Davis Derby.

“Coincidently, Ivygrove bought Davis Derby’s massive complex on Alfreton Road all those years ago and converted into a thriving multi-purpose industrial park, which is now occupied by numerous local companies.”

Further transactions are in the pipeline for the remaining units on Eagle Park, said Blount.

Click here to sign up to receive our new South West business news...
Close