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Industrial/Warehouse News
One of the biggest names in ground engineering is building the foundations for growth in a new site at Kirkby-in-Ashfield. Van Elle, an award-winning business known in the industry for its advanced piling and foundation techniques, is expanding into a major new location based on an old industrial site close which is only four miles from the M1 motorway.
The move is being made after a deal secured on Van Elle’s behalf by Tim Gilbertson, a director in the commercial and industrial team at the Nottingham property consultancy FHP.
Currently based in Pinxton, Van Elle will mark its 30th anniversary in business next year, having been founded in 1984 by company chairman Michael Ellis. It has become an award-winning business hailed as one of the best in the ground engineering industry and renowned for its expertise in sustainable geotechnical engineering.
It was named Specialist Ground Engineering Constructor of the year in 2011, and worked its way into the Sunday Telegraph Top 100 Businesses rankings. It has managed to not only retain its clients but expand during the downturn, and asked FHP to help it find a new site which would give it room for further expansion.
Through FHP, it has now acquired an old industrial site at Summit Close, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, which was once the home of Charcon Tunnels. The 4.5 acres site comprises two parcels of vacant land just of Southwell Road. Over time, Van Elle plans to modify the site to suits its own purposes.
Tim Gilbertson said: “Van Elle is a market leader and without a doubt one of the real business success stories of the region. It is known across construction industry for its expertise in ground assessment, piling and foundation techniques. Increasing numbers of customers have bought into tis quality-led approach and that means the business needed a new site to expand. They are a specialist business and they gave us a pretty exacting brief when it came to finding an appropriate site. The deal that has eventually been agreed was a complex one which took time to put together, but the site at Summit Close is a substantial one and offers the capacity for them to fulfil their growth ambitions for the next decade and beyond.
“Summit Close is very well connected being less than a mile from the A38, which links straight into the M1 motorway at Junction 28. This area has been one of the most active in the industrial market for a while now and the Van Elle deal is another illustration of the whole area’s popularity.”
Jon Fenton, Chief Executive of Van Elle, explained the background to the deal. He said: “We set FHP an exacting task because the nature of our work means we required a site which would meet some specific requirements. I’m pleased to say that their knowledge of the area and experience in doing deals thee was a major factor in us securing this site. On that basis, we would have no hesitation in working with FHP again.”
Tim Gilbertson concluded: “Despite the fact that it continues to be a difficult climate, we are being asked more and more to acquire space on behalf of businesses which require industrial and warehouse space, whether it is leasehold or freehold. We have been particularly active in the wider area around the M1 corridor for some time now, building up a depth of market knowledge which is not available elsewhere.
“This knowledge is proving invaluable for our clients, who are looking at a market where opportunities appear to be few and far between. We know where the real opportunities are, which means we can identify solutions for our clients. This is taking a problem off the hands of managing directors and finance directors who have already got enough on their plates without having to source, negotiate and acquire the property they need to grow.”