B&M opens 618,000 sq ft HQ
Discount retail chain B&M Retail has opened its national base and distribution centre in South Liverpool.
The Vault on Estuary Commerce Park was developed speculatively by Gladman, the privately owned developer based in Cheshire, and contains 603,000 sq ft of warehouse space with more than 15,000 sq ft of offices. The vault contains 56 dock level doors for direct truck access to the warehouse.
Gladman sold The Vault to Rockpoint before the crash and B&M snapped it up for £14m in 2009 at £24/sq ft.
B&M Retail, which operates B&M Bargains, is relocating from Blackpool and has been awarded up to £1.75m in grant funding from Liverpool City Council depending on the number of local jobs created. B&M plans 600 jobs in total, including relocations and local recruitment.
B&M Retail began trading 30 years ago. By 2004, when it was bought by brothers, Bobby and Simon Arora, the company had 21 stores and an annual turnover of £65m. Since then the company has grown to annual turnover of over £500m through 200 stores which attract more than a million customers each week.
Simon Arora, joint managing director of B&M, said: "The company has come a long way in a short time and we are convinced that our relocation to Liverpool will mean even further growth. We looked at a large number of potential sites and decided that Liverpool was the outstanding option. A decisive factor was not only the quality of business environment but also the proximity to the docks reflecting Liverpool's position as an international freight gateway."
