Easy Bathrooms to create over 500 jobs with move to new HQ in Wakefield
Easy Bathrooms will retain its current 125,000 sq ft based in Birstall while investing £5m in the new facility. The site is owned and being developed by Tungsten Properties.
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Hide AdThe move means that the bathroom supplier’s physical footprint will exceed 1million sq ft as it also has 92 showrooms across the UK.
The expansion will also pave the way for the creation of 100-150 new jobs at the head office over the next two years, as well as 373 new staff to be employed throughout the UK at new showrooms. Easy Bathrooms already employs 580 people.
Craig Waddington, who founded Easy Bathrooms in 2012, said: “We have grown extraordinarily quickly, particularly during the pandemic. Our current Birstall headquarters has served us well, but in truth, we outgrew it a long time ago. At our current headquarters, we operate with just two roller shutters – there are no dock leveller doors – and we have just 7,000 pallet spaces.
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Hide Ad“It’s incredible, and a testament to our warehouse team, that we’ve managed. Our stock has been spread across four smaller warehouses, which has been a logistical challenge. Our new site is 18m high at the eaves, and we will have 32 dock leveller doors; meaning that our fleet of vehicles can drive straight up to the warehouse ready to be loaded quickly and efficiently. We will be able to hold 58,000 pallets and significantly increase our stock holding, which is important with the current global shipping disruptions.”
The current headquarters in Birstall is home to what was its 11th showroom in April 2017.
Due to open its 100th store before Christmas, the brand has opened an average of 20 showrooms per year since 2017 and 34 in the past year alone while growing revenue by 33 per cent to £60m. By 2023 it is expecting to have 175 showrooms.
Developer secures deal
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Hide AdIndustrial and warehouse developer Tungsten Properties completed the purchase of the 15.2-acre Calder Park site in August 2020 from Peel L&P Business Parks for £9.75m.
Tungsten received planning consent from Wakefield Council in March 2021 which resulted in a change in planning consent from B1 offices to B8 distribution.
Easy Bathrooms has taken the whole distribution facility.
Construction started on September 6 with practical completion due in the second quarter of 2022.
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Hide AdThe terms of the deal are £6.56 per sq. ft. on a 17-year lease.
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