Work has now finished at an historic Grade II listed textile mill in the heart of the thriving Park Valley Business Park in Lockwood, Huddersfield.
The 20,600 sq ft heritage Mending Rooms building has been imaginatively converted to high-quality business accommodation.
The development was completed this month, with 50 per cent of office space already let.
The project has been supported by a grant from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with the total development costing £2.3m.
The new occupiers are Biofresh, Porky Penguin, Lumley Baxter Asset Management and Foodmate UK.
Biofresh, who are market leaders in ethical food storage, are expanding from a 3,000 sq ft unit into a 10,000 sq ft industrial unit at Park Valley Mills and are also moving into a 1,300 sq ft office on the top floor of The Mending Rooms.
Porky Penguin, who provide personal gifts for all occasions, are moving from Brooks Mill in Huddersfield into a 1,370 sq ft ground floor studio in the Mending Rooms.
Chartered Financial Planners Lumley Baxter have taken a 2,775 sq ft office on the second floor of The Mending Rooms.
And finally, food processing systems supplier Foodmate UK have taken 2,830 sq ft of space within the building, meaning the ground floor is now fully let.
Martin Duckett of developers Park Valley Huddersfield Ltd explained that the radically-refurbished Mending Rooms were delivering prime SME employment space on a successful site to support inward investment and company expansion.
He commented: “We are delighted that this exciting opportunity has already attracted four successful and growing innovative companies to work alongside each other within contemporary space of the highest quality in a heritage setting.”
Sarah-Jayne Lishman, of leading Leeds-based property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips, commented: “We have already let 50 per cent of the new-look Mending Rooms before the building has been completed. This splendid development is supporting economic growth in the Huddersfield area and enhances the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.
“We are providing space that small start-ups and entrepreneurs can occupy, as they enjoy first-class physical and digital infrastructure, supporting the growth and sustainability of their businesses. Ample on-site parking is also available.”
Jeremy Barraclough of Bio Fresh commented: “As part of the Park Valley Mills development for the last three years, we have watched the transformation of the Mending Rooms from our current unit.
“The completion of the project tied in perfectly with the expansion of our business allowing us to take further space within this beautifully converted yet sympathetically restored building. We are thrilled to be able to operate from this unique space.”
Rebecca Kellett of Porky Penguin said: “We were blown away by the Mending Rooms and the attention to detail that has gone into making the space incredibly beautiful. We are very excited about making it our new office home.”
Richard Baxter, partner with Lumley Baxter, commented: “After 50 years in Huddersfield town centre, the Mending Rooms is an excellent location and the perfect environment for us to continue to grow the business.”
Robert Stocks of Foodmate UK said: “We have had our eye on the Mending Rooms ever since we saw the quality of the restoration of Park Valley House and are very excited about moving into this stunning space which we feel will provide our employees with a sense of pride about their workplace.
“We have been very happy tenants at Park Valley for over five years and, needing more office space, we were reluctant to move away from such a great site, so we are truly delighted to be able to take advantage of this development. The whole site is exceptionally well-managed and we can’t recommend it highly enough.”
Martin Duckett added: “We are tremendously proud of what has already been achieved at Park Valley Business Park and Park Valley House, where more than 150 sustainable jobs have been created already. Once completed, the Mending Rooms should be home to another 80 employees.
He explained: “We have been able to transform a derelict industrial site into a modern business park, with first-class industrial units and wonderful heritage building in Park Valley House. Now the Mending Rooms is the next jewel in our crown.”
“We have built speculatively in a challenging commercial property market, placing our faith in the Huddersfield area and this faith has been rewarded on a site which has a proud history and a great future.”
The adjacent Park Valley House is now fully occupied, while Park Valley Business Park, which comprises 18 light industrial units, has just two units of 3,000 sq ft available.
The main contractors for the Mending Rooms were JM Building Yorkshire Ltd.
The development has the full support of Kirklees Council.
