Office building once used by BBC to enjoy new lease of life as part of Grimsby regeneration scheme

A key stage in the transformation of St James’ Square in Grimsby has been completed with a local company purchasing St James’ House.

The former office building has been bought by the E-Factor Group, which has plans to bring the building back to life using a £1.5m slice of Towns Fund money along with significant private investment.

The move will pave the way for the building to be completely renovated and transformed into a hub for local businesses.

Mark Webb, Managing Director of E-Factor, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that we can now plough on with our plans to develop this building and provide quality business accommodation for a variety of local businesses and entrepreneurs right in the town centre. There will also be space for business events and small conferences, all aimed at supporting local business people.

“We are an independent limited company, but every bit of our profits are reinvested in supporting the huge contribution local business owners and entrepreneurs make to this town. E-Factor will once again be providing wrap around business support, easy in easy out terms and all the guidance we can give to help create and grow successful local businesses. The more people who do business in the town centre, the better it will be for shops and restaurants also located there.”

North East Lincolnshire Council’s Cabinet approved a business case to help renovate the building last year with the use of Town Deal money. Whilst not putting any council cash into the scheme, authority approval was needed to enable the release of Government monies.

Confirmation of the building’s new future has been welcomed by campaigners who have worked in the background to progress plans. This includes the Church’s representative body, the PCC (the Parochial Church Council) – the former owners of the building.

Fr Chris Hewitt, Vicar of Grimsby Minster and Chairman of the PCC, said: “St James’ House was built in the early 1970s and for many years provided offices and meeting space in the town centre for a variety of organisations including the council, the BBC and it also provided accommodation for the Parish office.

“More recently the building became surplus to requirements and over the last few years a number of alternative options were investigated, which unfortunately did not proceed.

"We took the decision to appoint Scotts Property to dispose of the building and they received a number of expressions of interest. We carefully considered these, not only from a financial perspective, but also with regard to the presence of Grimsby Minster and our social investment in St James’ Square and the surrounding area. The proposal from E-Factor provided the best fit and we are delighted to have sold the property to them. We look forward to seeing it play an important role in the future of St James’ Square and the town centre.”

Lawrence Brown, Managing Partner at property agents Scotts, explained: “We’ve been working with the PCC and the Minster, together with other agencies, for several years to try to bring forward various alternative uses for the building. We’ve considered residential conversions, offices, medical related uses, art galleries and cultural space together with retail and restaurant units.