A new manufacturing company, set up at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, is on the fast track to growth from its new factory base in Bromsgrove, secured with the help of property agents John Truslove.
Cardinal Steels is the brainchild of managing director Jake Broadhurst, specialising in manufacturing steel cladding and roofing for industrial and commercial clients across the UK, and it is already looking to double its workforce just a few weeks after moving into its new factory.
Launching the business in November last year, as the country went into its second Covid-19 lockdown, was a challenge, Jake admitted.
“But we just needed to get on with it. We needed manufacturing premises and saw the site at Aston Road in a newspaper advert in January. We got in touch with Ben Truslove at John Truslove and we were able to have a look around a few hours later.
“We realised it was ideal, and we would have to go a very long way to find somewhere anything like as good for our purposes. We had the deal done within a few days; Ben and the team moved really quickly to help us get it over the line.”
Ben Truslove, joint managing director at John Truslove, secured a tenancy deal with Cardinal Steels for landlord UKF Group that sees the fledgling manufacturing firm take a five year lease on the 15,902 sq ft factory unit at 22 Aston Road in Bromsgrove, with an option to buy.
The property provides manufacturing and warehouse space as well as offices and is equipped with a five tonne rail crane.
The new company serves the industrial, commercial and agricultural industries, working on everything from stables and farm buildings to large industrial estates.
Jake Broadhurst said: “There is terrific demand at the moment. A lot of our competitors shut down during Covid, furloughing staff, so we have been able to pick up a lot of work early on. The biggest challenge is the shortage of steel, because so many manufacturers closed down last year, so the price of materials has sky-rocketed.
“But we are winning a lot of work, using our website to spread the word about our business nationwide. We started with four people at the factory but we are looking for more local people to recruit. We need another four or five skilled manufacturing engineers to help us cater for demand.”
Ben Truslove said: “This is an ambitious new company that needed high quality manufacturing premises in a very short space of time. We are delighted we were able to secure a deal that puts Cardinal Steels on the right track while providing our landlord client with an excellent new tenant.
“With our unrivalled knowledge of the local market and of the landlords operating within it, here at John Truslove we are in a position to ensure new companies get off on the right foot in the right premises.”
Neil Faunch, associate director at Ansons Solicitors, advised Cardinal Steels.
Redditch-based chartered surveyors and valuers John Truslove was recently named Most Active Agent in Worcestershire in the Radius Data Exchange survey produced in conjunction with EG, the commercial property market magazine.
Joint managing director Ian Parker was also named Worcestershire Dealmaker of the Year AND Warwickshire Dealmaker of the Year for 2020. The survey year, which runs from August to August, saw John Truslove record a 36% increase in deals negotiated over the 12 months.