£3m move for IPP to Prime Point

International Piping Products (Europe) has agreed a 10-year lease with London and Cambridge Properties, which is delivering the development at its flagship industrial estate at The Pensnett Estate, for unit A.

The company, which is based in Barton-under-Needwood, near Burton upon Trent, has opened a new facility at the 21,740 sq ft unit, where it is manufacturing bespoke fasteners and machined components predominantly for the oil and gas, power generation and aerospace industries.

It is hoping to create up to 30 new skilled jobs over the next 12 months, with roles such as CNC programmers, machinists, thread rollers, forge masters, quality technicians and sales executives.

Jared Ayres, chief executive of IPP Group, said: “We’ve been growing over the past few years and needed to find new premises where we can continue our operations. Having grown up within a mile of the facility, I feel tremendously proud to be able to bring jobs to an area which holds such great memories for me. We look forward to developing the business in the Black Country.”

Prime Point is the first speculative building project national commercial property and investment company LCP has undertaken since 2014, when it created Progress Point at the industrial estate.

Paula James, industrial lettings manager at LCP, said: “We decided to embark upon our ambitious speculative development because we knew there was a real need for premium quality industrial units of this size in the area and the interest we’ve had in Prime Point bears this out. We’ve been working hard with our marketing agents to attract strong occupiers and securing a global name such as IPP is great news.”

Matt Tilt, director industrial agency at Lambert Smith Hampton, which is joint marketing agency for Prime Point, said: “The calibre of enquiries we’ve had about Prime Point indicates that the development is a much-needed industrial facility in the area. To have brought IPP is testament to its quality.”

James Bird, associate at Bulleys, joint marketing agent, added: “We’ve had a flurry of interest in the site, boosted by the fact that the first unit was completed three months ahead of schedule. We’re delighted to have concluded negotiations with IPP successfully and look forward to announcing further occupiers in the coming weeks.”

Prime Point also includes an adjoining unit, Building B, a 30,000 sq ft unit that has left as a shell for incoming tenants to complete to their exact fit out requirements.

Really Useful Products, which manufactures storage boxes for business and home, has already signed a deal to move to a 31,000 sq ft unit in another phase at Prime Point.

The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership has been supporting LCP with the development. Prime Point sits within DY5, Dudley’s business and innovation enterprise zone, which qualifies occupiers for benefits, including up to £55,000 a year business rate discount over a five-year period.

The Pensnett Estate is one of the largest secure business estates in Europe, and home to 160 businesses in more thanr 2.4 million sq ft of commercial property.