The UK’s leading independent provider of fleet incident management and specialist vehicle recovery services, FMG, has moved to a new 43,000 square foot headquarters in Bradley Business Park Huddersfield.
Leading commercial law firm Thrings has helped the award winning business acquire the Grade A office building and adjoining land.
In 2018, FMG was labelled one of the ‘100 Best Companies to Work For’ for the fourth time by the Sunday Times. Other than providing services to blue chip companies, the go-to vehicle recovery partner provides incident management and roadside services to Highways England and police forces across the country.
Outgrowing its St Andrews Road Bradley Mills base, occupied by FMG since 2002, 60 of the company’s 400 staff have operated out of a separate office in Huddersfield town centre. The move to Broad Lea House will reunite staff under one roof and allow the national operator to accommodate plans for a 10 percent increase to its workforce.
Current occupier, Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group, is relocating to one wing of the building and a major refurbishment programme is now underway. Led by Malcolm Hollis, the refit is expected to complete in September and will feature a new reception area, a serviced canteen, new training and meeting rooms.
Thrings, now advisor to multiple companies under the umbrella Redde Plc group, provided legal assistance for the acquisition of the premises from the NHS and the grant of a sublease to the co-occupiers – Greater Huddersfield Clinical Commissioning Group.
Also included in the deal was the acquisition of adjoining land from a third party land owner, to be developed by FMG into car parking facilities for staff.
Operations director at FMG, John Keeton said: “Our office relocation is the next exciting step in the remarkable story of FMG’s carefully-managed growth. Thrings have provided vital expertise throughout this complex transaction, providing clear and transparent communication with the many parties involved, resulting in a smooth and seamless transaction.”
Leading on the deal at Thrings was Commercial Property partner Ben Tarrant, who said: “The relocation of FMG’s headquarters is the latest in a series of major national corporate occupier deals which Thrings has managed from a legal perspective. Moves of this scale often involve multiple parties and legal hurdles – so the expertise and talent of colleagues from across our national offices really came into play. It has been a pleasure to see this milestone through for FMG and to smooth the pathway for this growing company to achieve its strategic objectives.”
