Jobs bonanza as distributor relocates

As many as 90 jobs will be created when a national drinks distributor relocates to Thorp Arch Estate next year.
Wharfedale Property Management Ltd director Tim Munns (left) and Richard Hampshire, director of employers agent LHL Group Ltd, on site at Thorp Arch Estate.Wharfedale Property Management Ltd director Tim Munns (left) and Richard Hampshire, director of employers agent LHL Group Ltd, on site at Thorp Arch Estate.
Wharfedale Property Management Ltd director Tim Munns (left) and Richard Hampshire, director of employers agent LHL Group Ltd, on site at Thorp Arch Estate.

Matthew Clark Wholesale Ltd is to build a major new distribution warehouse at the site near Wetherby and transfer its Yorkshire operations there from its current base near York.

The Bristol-based company, which distributes alcoholic and soft drinks to thousands of pubs, hotels, clubs and restaurants across the North, has operated from Derwent Valley Industrial Estate at Dunnington for more than 15 years.

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Building work on the 62,925 sq ft facility will start in January, with completion due in early summer 2016, after the plan was backed by Leeds City Council planners this month.

Three units with a combined area of 93,614 sq ft have been demolished at Thorp Arch to make way for the warehouse, tenders for the building work have been issued and the appointment of a contractor will be announced soon.

Tim Munns, director of Wharfedale Property Management, which manages the estate for owner Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust, said: “Attracting Matthew Clark Wholesale Ltd is another significant coup for Thorp Arch Estate as we continue to develop one of the most dynamic business communities in Yorkshire.

“As with many of our tenants, Matthew Clark has chosen to relocate to Thorp Arch Estate due to our proximity to the A1 and national motorway network. This is one of the most significant industrial property deals in Yorkshire this year and reinforces the estate’s ideal location equidistant between Leeds, York and Harrogate.”

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The new warehouse will feature nine dock levellers, two level-entry goods access doors, a large goods yard and 6,350 sq ft of office space.

Matthew Clark Wholesale Ltd, which has its national headquarters in Bristol, has more than 200 years’ experience of supplying drinks, hospitality training, labour management and marketing support.

Thorp Arch Estate is the base for more than 140 businesses, employing more than 1,800 people.