Five new deals secured following £440k investment at former Emmerdale mill

Five new deals have been secured at the Red Lane Mill building at Sunny Bank Mills, the refurbished mill complex between Leeds and Bradford.

Five Yorkshire companies are relocating to Red Lane Mill, which has been transformed into office space after a £440k investment. The 5,000 sq ft building is now fully let.

The renovation of Red Lane Mill is part of the rejuvenation of Sunny Banks Mills in Farsley, where ITV’s Emmerdale and Heartbeat were filmed.

During the past six years, Sunny Bank Mills has been transformed into a brand new office complex which is now home to 70 companies, who employ a total of 340 staff.

Grove Print and Packaging, PWD Creative, the Server Centre, Nucleus Signs and Studio Belly Timber are the five companies moving into Red Lane Mill.

William Gaunt, joint managing director of Edwin Woodhouse, the owners of Sunny Bank Mills, commented: “The fact that we have fully let Red Lane Mill before the refurbishment is totally completed is a resounding endorsement of both the investment we have made in the building and of Sunny Bank Mills itself.

“The five deals underline the versatility and flexibility of space at Sunny Bank Mills, which is attracting an exciting breadth of occupiers. They also illustrate the strength of the post-Brexit Yorkshire economy, with all five companies having the confidence to invest in new premises and in their future.”

Adam Butterfield of Grove Print and Packaging, which has taken 1,912 sq ft of space at Red Lane Mill, explained: “We have relocated from 1 The Engine Room at Sunny Bank Mills, because we are expanding. In addition we needed to move to a more purpose-built unit in order to be more efficient.

“Overall Sunny Bank Mills is an excellent base to work in. The landlords are most accommodating and I feel their investment in the mill will be beneficial to everyone.”

Sue Wilson, financial director of PWD Creative, added: “We have built our business from scratch over the past 20 years, specialising in digital illustration and highly creative image retouching. Working with clients such as Coca-Cola, Adidas and a number of other blue chip clients, we felt that now was the time to expand our working space into a more creative environment.

“When we first looked at Red Lane Mill in May it was totally derelict with grass growing through the floor, but we shared John and William Gaunt’s vision of what the space could become. Over the summer, we watched the building transform into the wonderful workspace we have today.

“Collecting the keys on our company’s 20th anniversary was a very special moment. It is a privilege to be part of this amazing regeneration project which has created a fantastic buzz and a wonderful community spirit around the mills. John and William Gaunt have incredible vision and we couldn’t wish for better landlords.”.

Stuart Andrew, MP for Pudsey, commented: “It is great to see the ambitious plans for Sunny Bank Mills coming to fruition. I have worked closely with some of the team at the Mills, and it has always struck me how they understand that the Mills play a very special part in our area’s history.

“Their plans have meant that through creating a state of the art multi-purpose space, they have been able to attract a lot of new and modern businesses.”

The joint marketing agents for Sunny Bank Mills are the Leeds office of global property consultancy JLL.