Three new deals have been completed at the thriving Sunny Bank Mills, the iconic Yorkshire mill complex between Leeds and Bradford.
The deals underline the renaissance of Sunny Banks Mills in Farsley, where YTV’s Emmerdale and Heartbeat were filmed.
During the past six years the multi award-winning Sunny Bank Mills, one of the most famous family-owned mills in Yorkshire, has been transformed into a modern office complex for the 21st century. It is now home to 70 companies, who employ a total of 340 staff.
It is also a best-practice case study in a report “Engines of Prosperity”, on the conversion and regeneration of West Yorkshire’s textile mills prepared by Cushman and Wakefield on behalf of Historic England.
The companies who have signed the new deals are: Fresh Cut, Farsley Dental Practice and Northern Lights Studio.
William Gaunt, joint managing director of Edwin Woodhouse, the owners of Sunny Bank Mills, commented: “The three 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 three companies having the confidence to invest in new premises and in their future.”
Rick Frier of video productive company Fresh Cut, who have taken 1,555 sq ft of quality studio at 4 Mending Rooms, explained: “We have doubled in size in the last 12 months so we’ve been looking for a space to set up a video studio in Leeds.”
“We’re a creative video production company, who specialise in videos for local businesses. I set up Fresh Cut 11 years ago as a one-man band in a bedroom in Headingley and now we have video production teams in Leeds and London working for some of the UK’s biggest brands.”
“Sunny Bank is a fantastic place, it offers us a large cost-effective space which we just couldn’t afford in Leeds city centre. The landlords are very supportive and reactive to our needs. The community feel and fantastic shops and restaurants in Farsley make it the ideal hub for ambitious independent businesses,” said Mr Frier.
Victoria Crowley, the practice manager of Farsley Dental Practice, who have taken 678 sq ft at 10 The Engine Room, commented: “The Engine Room is now the office space for Farsley Dental Practice. We now employ 16 members of staff.”
“We have taken on extra space at The Engine Room because we have grown significantly over the last five years and we needed space to be able to carry out our extra administrative tasks.
“John and William Gaunt are fantastic landlords, very helpful, friendly and professional. The Mills are in the heart of the village and brings a modern village feel to all our visitors,” said Ms Crowley.
Northern Light Studio, which specialises in fashion, sports and product photography, has relocated from 4 Mending Rooms to 21 Mending Rooms, taking 1,308 sq ft of office space.
Paul Markham of Northern Light Studio said: “Sunny Bank Mills is a great base to work from. It is situated well for easy access into Leeds and to major motorways, without the hustle and bustle of city life. The landlords are helpful and we would recommend taking space here. “
John Gaunt added: “The decision by Northern Light Studio to relocate within Sunny Bank Mills are great examples of our ability to meet an occupier’s expanding requirements.”
The Mending Rooms have recently been commended by the British Council of Offices, adding to awards from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors in 2015 and the Yorkshire Post in 2016.
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.”
Sarah-Jayne Lishman of Leeds-based property consultancy Dove Haigh Phillips commented: “The refurbishment of Sunny Bank Mills is a complete triumph, a wonderful balance of cutting edge modern office space in an environment rich in history and heritage. The attention to detail is stunning and the mills now provide arguably the finest office space in the Leeds-Bradford corridor.”
The joint marketing agents for Sunny Bank Mills are the Leeds office of global property consultancy JLL.
