Successful home-grown businesses buy vacant industrial estate from council

TWO growing Bradford businesses have bought a vacant industrial estate from Bradford Council.

Restaurant chain MyLahore and South Asian department store Janan have announced the purchase of five units on the Thornton Road Industrial Estate – and the companies plan a major redevelopment of the empty site. The site was sold for an as yet undisclosed sum.

The firms, which, between them, employ several hundred people, say the site off Hockney Road will be fully redeveloped to create space for new industrial units for their “growing online and events businesses”.

Surplus space will be let out to other businesses. The large units on the site have been vacant for several years, with property consultant Eddisons appointed by Bradford Council to market the site. It was one of more than 150 assets the authority announced it planned to sell to help balance its books.

Eddisons associate director Matt Jennings said: “This industrial complex has been disused for too long and we were really pleased to sell this asset to two great Bradford businesses on behalf of the city council.

“We had a huge amount of interest in the property with more than 40 potential buyers attending one of the open days, which is indicative of the continued strength of the industrial market and shortage of supply for quality industrial space in Bradford.”

He added: “It will be great to see the firms’ investment and redevelopment plans take shape, bringing this strategic industrial site back up to a good standard and creating new jobs.”

The two businesses are both home-grown success stories. British-Asian restaurant chain MyLahore was founded in the city in 2002 and has established family-owned restaurants in Manchester and Leeds, Birmingham and Blackburn.

Launched in 2011 in Bradford, South Asian department store Janan now has 12 stores across the UK.