A flooring specialist in the South has expanded operations with the addition of a trade counter in Portsmouth.
Portsmouth Flooring signed a six-year lease on a 4,366 sq ft unit at 3:1 Central Point, Kirpal Road, Portsmouth, at a quoted annual rent of £29,950.
Hughes Ellard, the independent commercial property consultancy covering the Solent region, acted for a private landlord in the transaction.
Alan Cobb, who has been in the carpet trade for more than 40 years, founded Portsmouth Flooring 18 years and employs a team of 16 people, including fitters and apprentices.
The trade counter will complement the firm’s long-established retail shop selling carpets and rugs at the city’s Frederick Street.
Russell Mogridge, the business space director for Hughes Ellard, said: “Central Point is a flourishing, fully occupied trade park which was developed back in the mid 2000s when the city council sold off depot land for commercial and residential development.
“Portsmouth Flooring snapped up the opportunity to lease the trade counter unit, with the option to later purchase the freehold. We rarely see empty trade counters along the Solent corrider – they are always in demand from successful local businesses.
“A key draw for businesses at Central Point is the location because it is by the A2030 Eastern Road, which is the main arterial route in and out of Portsmouth city centre and linking directly to the M27.”
Managing director Alan, who was born and bred in the city, said: “We’re grateful to Russell for getting us into our new trade counter – everyone acted to the letter in the deal.
“The unit is a clear sign of expansion at Portsmouth Flooring as we needed the stock space and we are now wholesalers of artificial grass, having sold £80,000 worth in just 12 months from a standing start.
“Our hard-earned compliance credentials mean we are also a preferred supplier to highly respected residential developers such as Berkeley Homes, Linden Homes and City & Country.
“Our shop in Frederick Street continues to trade well and both locations are strategically placed for where we want to be in the flooring industry for both retail and wholesale.”
Alan said that Portsmouth Flooring directly employs fitters for quality control purposes rather than sub-contracting. The firm also has two apprentices on its books.
Central Point occupiers include MR Electrical Services, builders H Monfared, specialist cleaning and facilities management firm SSH, utility cost management consultancy Utilitywise, Antel, which formulates and manufactures chemicals for the building and leisure industries, GSF Car Parts, Wallfast, which makes wall ties and structural fixings, Delta Ventilation and builders T Coleborn & Son.
