Safety equipment manufacturer takes on 10-year lease at commercial unit

Harworth Group, a listed regenerator of land and property for development and investment, has let one of its two remaining built units at its flagship Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) site in Rotherham.

Safety Engineering Products, a UK designer, manufacturer and supplier of height safety equipment, has taken a ten-year lease on Harworth’s 13,223 sq ft Unit 5B at a rent of £7.50psf.

It is expanding its present Sheffield operation and will be moving into the unit in the spring as part of its plan to increase production following successfully delivered projects at sites such as Battersea Power Station and Canary Wharf.

Gent Visick acted as letting agent and Keebles acted as Harworth’s lawyers.

This deal means only one unit – the 17,359 sq ft Unit 5A – remains to let at the AMP.

Harworth has now built 1.5m sq ft of its 2.1m sq ft consent, aimed specifically at growing manufacturing businesses wanting to be close to either the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre or to existing occupiers at the park including Boeing, Rolls-Royce, McLaren Automotive and the UK Atomic Energy Authority.

The AMP forms part of Waverley, Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield redevelopment set over 750 acres that has already delivered 900 new homes of a 4,000 home consent and will also deliver a range of new community & leisure facilities.

2,000 people now work at the AMP, four times the number that worked at the former Orgreave Colliery & Coking Works which occupied the site over three decades ago. It has been forecast that this location will deliver an estimated total of 3,500 high-value jobs once fully developed.

Peter Henry, director of Yorkshire & Central at Harworth Group, said: “Our vision for Waverley was to create Yorkshire’s biggest and best new community and the delivery of space to support the growth of a quality local manufacturer firmly fits within this.

“We now have further land available for the AMP’s next phases and ultimately we want to attract further original equipment manufacturers and their supply chains to be part of its ongoing success.”

Mark Richardson, managing director of Safety Engineering Products, said: “Safety Engineering Products are excited to relocate the business to the prestigious Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham.

“The new 13,000 square foot unit will enable us to sustain and increase the growth of business we have seen in the past 18 months.’’

Tim Powner, asset manager at Harworth Group, said: “This is an excellent deal for all parties, supporting Safety Engineering Products’ growth whilst delivering a long-term income stream to Harworth that pays for the overheads of our business.

“Reported demand at the AMP from occupiers wanting to be close to the University of Sheffield’s AMRC is strong and we expect to let our remaining unit in short order.”

Dan Walker, chartered surveyor at Gent Visick, added: “The lack of quality new supply in the region, combined with the high quality of the units at R-evolution, was a perfect fit for Safety Engineering Ltd’s business.

“Unit 5A is the last remaining building of a high quality energy efficient scheme, benefiting from a clear height of seven metres, and we’ve already had strong interest in the first month of this year.”