Milton Keynes has the ‘je ne sais quoi’ for the French bakery giant Brioche Pasquier as it chooses the City as a place to do business. To coin its own catch phase -‘because its good’.
The company has signed a deal with local commercial developer Hampton Brook in a joint venture partnership with Roxhill, to develop a new manufacturing facility at Centro – on the site of the former Alps Electronics building at Wymbush. The scheme will be developed in two phases – Phase 1 providing an initial 160,000 sq ft, with a further phase of 70,000 sq ft within five years.
Ian Jackson, Development Director at Hampton Brook, said: “With other competing locations across the UK looking to attract inward investment, we are excited that we have been able to place another international firm in Milton Keynes. The total investment is valued in the region of £70 million, creating over 200 jobs locally.”
He added: “Milton Keynes is highly regarded as a good place to do business – it is genuinely a unique City, designed and built for business growth and is considered to have a good employment base with a loyal workforce, together with its excellent road communications.”
Echoing this sentiment, Pam Gosal, Corporate Head of Economic Development & Inward Investment at Milton Keynes Council, commented: “Milton Keynes has been built on inward investment and companies from across the UK and around the world have chosen to locate and thrive here, creating jobs and wealth. In tough economic times, Milton Keynes has been recognised by yet another overseas company as the ‘place to do business’, beating some stiff competition in the wider region.”
She added: “The Economic Development: Invest Milton Keynes team worked very closely with the land owners from day one, giving support – from the planning outline consent right through to final investment and even introducing Brioche to Hampton Brook. Additionally, our relationship with development companies such as Hampton Brook is crucial in securing new investment into the city and bringing forward new sites and premises. This is a key example of the sort of work we do and it shows how working together in partnership can give results.”
Construction works are due to start in March this year and completion scheduled towards the end of the year. Brioche Pasquier will then commence their fit-out of the production lines with the facility being operational by December 2015.
Brioche Pasquier is a French family business that manufactures and sells, fresh and frozen pastries and pastry, with traditional products such as croissants, pain au chocolat and filled brioche, to its mouth-watering macaroons, éclairs and tarts – all available from supermarkets across the UK. Founded in 1936, today it is still controlled by the Pasquier family. Originally specialising in pastries, the brand has expanded by various acquisitions, primarily in the field of pastry and now has numerous factories across France and Spain, and sales offices across the World.
The joint agents for Centro, representing Hampton Brook and Roxhill, were Burbage Realty, Lambert Smith Hampton and Budworth Hardcastle.
