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WESTLEIGH Developments has helped win a major battle in the fight against business migration by helping a well-known local business to bring its main headquarters back to Market Harborough. The development company has lured clothing company Joules back to Market Harborough with a new purpose-built headquarters at The Point, Westleigh's new office park off Rockingham Road. For the past 16 months, most of the clothing retailer's design and production has been based in Corby, although it has also used a smaller rural building in Marston Trussell for some of its administration. When the new building is complete later this year, all of the company's design, production and administration will be centred at The Point, with around 65 employees based there and the likelihood of further job prospects arising in the future. The Corby premises will be kept as a warehouse facility and call centre. The relocation is the latest in a series of coups by Westleigh, which has already attracted companies from Leicester and London to The Point and has provided new office solutions for many local firms who have outgrown their town centre bases. “We're a Leicestershire-based building company and, as such, set great store by keeping local businesses local and helping maintain and develop the area's employment opportunities,” said Matt Moore, Property Manager, Westleigh Developments. “The Joules building was a real challenge for us. We worked hard to ensure we could fulfil all their needs in terms of design, accessibility and functionality. It's become the Point's landmark building and is a fitting finale for the scheme, which is now in its final building phase.” The 15,000 square foot building has been innovatively designed and was adapted to meet the specific requirements of Joules, which was founded in Harborough in 1980 and has stores in the town's centre, Leamington Spa, Dartmouth, Salcombe in Devon and York. Two new stores are also due to open in Aldeburgh, Suffolk and Burnham Market, Norfolk. Dylan Richards, Operations Manager for Joules, said: “The new building is still in the foundation stage, but when finished will enable us to centralise all our design and production activities. The business is growing so we are constantly employing new people. We were attracted to the original Westleigh design and made a few modifications ourselves to adapt the building to our own needs. Westleigh's staff were very amenable and the project has run very smoothly so far.” Westleigh believes Market Harborough to be one of the fastest growing commercial centres in the East Midlands. Its first set of offices at The Point sold out in record time, with 30,000 square foot of office space under offer three months before the development had been completed and phase 2 quickly following suit. A diverse range of organisations from IT to the holiday sector have moved there. All offices at The Point offer businesses high quality accommodation, with the full range of must-have specifications for the modern business, including optional air conditioning, first-class insulation, including double-glazed windows and doors, specialist lighting to reduce the glare on computer screens and ample car parking for employees and visitors. |
