Property round-up: LPD Electrical; Caddick Construction; PJD Property; Project You; Beehive Business Centre

Neill Wood, left, and Vincent Priest

Independent electrical wholesaler, LPD Electrical, has moved into new premises at Moss Industrial Estate. The move offers its domestic and trade customers greater accessibility as well as a much larger range of products.

LPD was founded in Leigh in 1997 and offers a range of electrical and wiring products to commercial and industrial customers, as well as to the general public. The business operates two further branches in Southport, which opened in 1999, and Old Trafford, which opened in 2007.

Its head office in Leigh was previously based in a much smaller unit at the back of the industrial estate but, after years of steady growth, founder Vincent Priest is driving the business forward by moving it to a very prominent and much larger 4,000 sq ft unit directly on St Helens Road, at the main entrance of the estate.

Vincent Priest said: “Our new unit is much bigger and brighter than our old unit and it is extremely visible. We have had so many people dropping in asking if we are a new business, because they have never seen us before. We now have a huge front counter to serve our customers and we can display more stock out front, as well as a much larger range of goods in our warehouse area.

“This move will be really good for us and has come at an ideal time. We have a very strong local customer base, but we can also deliver right across the UK.”

Moss Industrial Estate is owned by family-run business, George Moss & Sons, which celebrated its centenary in 2020. The industrial estate is home to around 100 local businesses of varying sizes and industries.

Neill Wood, managing director of Moss Industrial Estate, said: “This is a fantastic move for LPD Electrical, and we are really pleased that we have been able to support their growth. We have a long history of helping local businesses to flourish and, given the tough year we have all had, it is fantastic to hear success stories like this.”

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The Alpla site

Caddick Construction’s North West team is making progress on the expansion of Alpla’s Warrington UK manufacturing facility in Golbourne.

The multimillion-pound design and build contract covers a series of phases, including a bridge link over the highway to connect global packaging and recycling specialist Alpla’s existing production facility with the adjacent former Carlsberg unit (GB4) which the company acquired in 2019 as its new logistics hub.

The Caddick Construction team is delivering the latest phase, which includes a substantial expansion of the logistics hub, along with associated external works. Work will complete in autumn 2021.

Ben Edwards, contracts manager at Caddick Construction, said: “The team has already started the delivery of the bridge link and is delighted to have secured this latest phase, expanding the company’s logistics facility.

“The project will allow this family-firm to expand in the UK in response to a rising demand for its products, creating new employment opportunities and boosting the local economy. The bridge link will also create business efficiencies, enabling products to be safely conveyed between Alpla’s manufacturing and storage facility without the need to hand transport between the buildings.”

Alpla produces innovative packaging systems, bottles and moulded parts for a wide range of customers, including packaging for hand sanitisers and cleaning sprays. The company is headquartered in Austria and employs more than 20,000 staff worldwide. Alpla occupies a number of manufacturing and distribution facilities at Stone Cross Business Park in Warrington, close to junction 23 of the M6.

Pozzoni Architecture designed the expanded facility and bridge link.

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St John’s Court

PJD Property has completed its third and final deal for St Johns Court, Quay Street, with medical aesthetics experts SkinViva Limited taking both the ground and first floor, totalling 2,253 sq ft, on a nine year lease.

Skin Viva’s letting follows jeweller Steven Stone’s letting of the 1,076 sq ft third floor suite in December 2020, and property consultancy Orland Reid’s letting of the 1,262 sq ft second-floor suite in April this year. The Orlando Reid letting was on the basis of a fully fitted and furnished suite to offer a ‘plug & play’ opportunity, including the creation of a meeting room, kitchen area and provision of carpeting, lights and desks throughout.

Totalling 4,842 sq ft over four floors, the building sits in a prime location opposite Spinningfields and next to the new St John’s District. PJD Property has carried out a comprehensive refurbishment creating Grade A space.

Mark Davies, director of PJD Property, said: “With its central location and the quality of fit-out, St John’s Court received a considerable amount of interest from the outset, and we are delighted to have fully let the building during the last 12 months which has been a challenging period.”

Canning O’Neill and OBI Property acted on behalf of PJD Property.

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Project You

New health, fitness and wellness studios have just opened at 14 The Downs, one of Altrincham’s most popular town centre locations.

Project You, has taken the ground and first floor unit comprising 1,800 sq ft on a five-year lease.

Owner, Hannah Norburn, who has been a personal trainer and lifestyle coach in Cheshire for six years, decided after a year of lockdowns that now was the best time to create the studios.

She said: “This is the ideal location for my mission to create a friendly and welcoming facility for everyone looking to prioritise their health and fitness in the heart of the town. This past year has obviously been a strange one and I haven’t spoken to one person who hasn’t experienced a downturn in their wellbeing, so I want to do everything I can to help.

“I have always said the best project you will ever work on is yourself, so my mission is to help everyone who walks through the doors to find and restore their health, happiness and confidence.”

Daniel Lee, managing director, regional property solutions, who let the unit on behalf of the landlord E A Properties, said: “The unit was only on the market for a week with multiple viewings and the letting was agreed and completed very quickly.

“The last year and its lockdowns appears to have galvanised people to take the step and start up their own businesses and with a more hopeful outlook and a focused approach they don’t hang around. Altrincham has attracted 15 new high street businesses since the start of the second lockdown in November. We wish them well.”

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Damian Curry

Whittle Jones, agents acting on behalf of Northern Trust Company, have announce that Business Hub Services has moved into Suite 15b at The Beehive Business Centre, Blackburn.

The Beehive is a three-storey business centre offering a range of flexible office suites from 163 sq ft up to 13,674 sq ft.

Business Hub Services works directly with more than 90 suppliers to provide a ‘free health audit’ across a company’s major monthly outgoings to free up cash to be spent elsewhere in their business, focusing on merchant services and utilities.

Damian Curran, director at Business Hub Services, said: “I have worked in private banking for over 15 years, and during the pandemic decided to set up Business Hub Services to utilise my expertise and assist other companies in streamlining their outgoings.

“I chose The Beehive Business Centre as my base, having been impressed with the area, the facilities and, most importantly, the price.”

The centre is ideally located close to junction five of the M65, and provides a managed reception and visitor welcome service, along with a large breakout area and fully equipped meeting room facilities.

Donna Jackson, business centre manager, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Damian and his team at Business Hub Services to The Beehive.

“The centre is now home to over 30 different businesses, supporting circa 200 jobs. We have recently seen an increase in enquiries for space as more people look to get back into an office environment.”

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