Fish and seafood firm snaps up 13.5-acre vacant logistics site
Fish and seafood processor Young’s looks set to create hundreds of new jobs after buying a prominent 13.5-acre site in the town.
Grimsby-based Young’s Seafood has snapped up the former home of XPO Logistics on Ladysmith Road and could be poised to turn it into a new production facility after confirming plans to close a plant in Scotland last month.
The land is located right next door to Young’s current headquarters and consists of six buildings, including an office block and cold stores. It was placed on the market for £1.5m and the acquisition was completed for a seven-figure sum.
For years, the land was operated by Christian Salvesen, before being taken over by French-listed Norbert Dentressangle in 2007.
In 2015, XPO bought out the entire business for £2.3bn and used the site to provide cold storage for the repackaging and distribution of frozen food.
Having closed with the loss of 60 jobs in May 2017, the site has been vacant ever since. It has previously been entered by travellers and two large concrete blocks needed to be put in place to stop vehicles entering through the gates.
Plans were lodged by the previous owner to demolish the site, but it now appears set for a reprieve after PPH Commercial stepped in to ensure a successful sale – the biggest in the region so far this year.
Duncan Willey, the Chartered Surveyor responsible for completing the deal, hopes it will herald the start of an exciting new era for the building.
Willey said: “This is the biggest single freehold disposal in Lincolnshire this year so the importance of this deal should not be underestimated. It’s not every day that you get the chance to acquire a premises right next door to your existing facility and it proved to be too good to turn down.
“I imagine the new owner’s will have a long-term plan to upgrade the facilities and bring new life to building, which could be a key part of their future plans.
“There’s been a lot of speculation about Young’s in recent months, but this deal seems to show their continued commitment to this area.
“Hopefully, they will be able to incorporate this sizeable acquisition into a successful long-term business plan to win new contracts and potentially create hundreds of new jobs.”
In July 2018, Young’s posted financial results with turnover growing 5.4% to £523.3m in its latest set of accounts.
It said growth had been driven by significant frozen and chilled food contract wins, along with the success of its own-label and Young’s branded products.
