Fashion giant scraps £50m plans to open Leeds facility
Burberry has scrapped plans to open a trench coat factory in Leeds’ South Bank.
The fashion giant had planned to refurbish and reopen the historic grade I-listed former flax mill Temple Works, investing £50m in the development which would relocate existing facilities.
It delivers a blow to Leeds and the “Northern Powerhouse”. The development would have created 200 jobs in the city.
Plans for the site were first revealed in 2015, with a completion date set for 2019. The plans have now lapsed and Burberry has said it is not going to continue with plans to develop the site according to the Financial Times.
It comes a year after the company’s chairman halted the plans, whilst the company attempted to make £50m in savings and played “wait and see” with the Brexit vote.
Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, said: “Burberry have assured us that their proposal to create a factory in Leeds is still on the table and we will continue to work positively with them to achieve that.
“Their original site adjacent to Temple Works is still very much in the mix and we also have other options available. We’re also looking forward to welcoming the relocated Burberry business support centre, bringing together much of their international and UK support services, along with 300 jobs, to Leeds later this year.
“Clearly it is disappointing that they are no longer pursuing the option of developing Temple Works, but we have been actively working on securing a sustainable and appropriate future use for what is one of the largest and most magnificent Grade I listed buildings in the North of England.”
Burberry will still be progressing with its move to 6 Queen Street, bringing 300 staff to the site.
Burberry has faltered over the past couple of years, but this morning it announced a revenue hike of 3% £478m for the three months to 30 June 2017, it said, buoyed by rising sales in China.
Chief executive Marco Gobbetti has only just taken over as chief executive, and will have to face the fall out from the decision in Leeds as well as a revolt over executive pay.
