A Nuneaton-based sheet metal design and manufacturing firm is expanding its footprint after sealing a seven-figure property deal.
Unifabs Limited, based at Haunchwood Industrial Estate in Galley Common, has purchased an additional four units of factory space – equating to 23,000 square feet - for £1.4 million. The deal means the firm now has more than 52,000 square feet of space at the site.
The purchase underlines the firm’s ongoing growth which in the past ten years has seen the company grow its staff from 10 to 110, and its annual turnover from £1 million to £9 million by the end of 2020.
Unifabs Limited was founded by Managing Director Jason Austin in 2007 as a manufacturer of sheet metal components, and has since branched out into designing parts for a complete service.
The company designs and manufactures bespoke fabricated parts for end users such as Amazon and Ocado, and also works with automotive brands such as Jaguar Land Rover, Bentley and Rolls Royce to design and manufacture equipment used to transport vehicles from mainland Europe.
Jason said: “This is a landmark moment for the business as the additional factory space will enable us to dedicate an area for research and development to ensure we can continue adapting to customer requirements, whilst inventing new approaches and capabilities to keep us ahead of the industry curve.
“Our production shop floor has previously been used for research and development, so this move also frees up our production capacity moving forward.
“We had been renting two of the units we have now purchased, which means we can now look at making changes to the building to aid our environmental effort by reducing the amount of forklifting that is carried out.
“This expansion comes off the back of a period where we had to quickly diversify during the lockdown period. We were manufacturing 5,000 hand sanitiser units a week during the summer; and because more people were at home shopping online, our work in the logistics sector remained strong.
“As a business we have near enough returned to what demand looked like before Covid-19 struck, and the additional space we now have to focus on research and development is going to act as a catalyst for further growth, as we aim for an annual turnover of £12 million in the next two years.”
Leading Midlands law firm Wright Hassall LLP acted on the purchase on behalf of Unifabs Limited.
Bhavika Mistry, Associate Solicitor in Wright Hassall’s Commercial Real Estate department, added: “Deals of this nature underline the region’s resilience despite the challenging economic environment we are operating in.
“This is the third time we have acted for Unifabs Limited in purchasing buildings on the estate in the last three years.
“The deal is a great investment for the future of Unifabs Limited who are going from strength-to-strength and it has been a pleasure to help Jason get this great deal over the line.”
Photo caption: From left, Bhavika Mistry (Wright Hassall) and Jason Austin (Unifabs Limited)