Wolf Laundry to create 25 jobs after investing £500,000 in new headquarters

The company, which employs 70 people, is moving staff from sites across Barnsley and Wakefield into new 20,000 sq ft offices and warehousing space in Barnsley. It will create 25 new jobs this year.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, Dan Riley, Wolf Laundry’s co-founder and joint managing director said: "We had five locations and everything became disjointed. We were having to move machinery from warehouse to warehouse."

The new warehouse has the capacity to stock over 1,500 washing machines. He added: "We've heavily invested in stock to minimise delays."

The firm spent £500,000 fitting out the new headquarters, which includes a £5,000 SMEG500 - a FIAT500 drinks fridge, complete with lift up bonnet and working headlights - in the boardroom as well as comfortable seating and break-out areas throughout the building.

Mr Riley said: "You spend most of your time at work so we wanted to make it as comfortable as possible so that the staff feel looked after."

Josh Brown, co-founder and joint managing director, added: "It's not a cheesy corporate thing. It's not for our ego, it's for the staff. We want to create a good place to work."

The firm, which supplied a lot of care homes and hospitals with washing equipment during the pandemic, has pledged to invest £1m this year as part of its five-year plan to reach £20m turnover.

It follows another year of revenue growth for the firm, which was founded in 2007. In 2021, turnover grew to £7.2m, up 64 per cent from £4.4m the previous year. Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) increased to £1.4m from £460,000 in 2020.

Last year, Wolf Laundry acquired a Cornish commercial laundry equipment specialist for a seven-figure sum. There are a further two in the pipeline as the business strengthens its national credentials.

"Because our industry is so niche, to get engineers can be very difficult so if we can buy companies that have engineers already then that's a big thing for us," Mr Riley said.

Wolf Laundry attributes its growth to its strong supply chain partnership with Schulthess, a Swiss washing technology group which took a 51 per cent stake in the company in 2018, and manufacturer of commercial and industrial dryers, American Dryer Corporation (ADC).

In addition it has invested in talent acquisition, strengthening its workforce with a further 13 members of staff over the last year and extending the reach of its manufacturer trained engineers to cover the whole of the UK.

Mr Riley said: “Our investment in strengthening the team and focusing on establishing and harnessing strong supply chain partnerships with high quality, innovative manufacturers Schulthess and ADC, has resulted in a strong financial performance.

"This in turn was boosted by our loyal customer base who are at the heart of the business."

Wolf Laundry provides customers across healthcare, hospitality, student accommodation and sheltered housing, with new laundry equipment, which its team of manufacturer-trained engineers and installation experts supply, install and maintain.