What does Wrexham have to offer businesses in the 21st century? Forming a crucial part of our new build development strategy, Wrexham is rapidly becoming the place to be for successful UK businesses and here we explain why.
Wrexham was at the very forefront of the industrial revolution in the 18th century and soon became a hub of coal and lead mining and the production of steel and leather and brewing. Home of the renowned Clywedog Valley - the Silicon Valley of the 1700s - Wrexham is also where British ironmaking began. It can lay claim to having been one of the most important iron manufacturing centres in the world for many years.
Given this successful industrial lineage, it is perhaps no surprise that the town is now home to the largest industrial estate in Wales. And that this crucially remains a strategic focal point for our new build industrial development plan.
An industrial estate for the 21st century
Wrexham Industrial Estate extends over 550 hectares and is home to over 340 businesses employing more than 10,000 people. While Wrexham’s economy has moved away from heavy industry, visitors to the industrial estate will find sectors including high tech manufacturing, biotechnology, food, automotive and engineering, all forming a stronghold.
Companies such as Wockhardt Ltd, a global pharmaceutical brand, and Ipsen, a French pharmaceutical business, have major sites at Wrexham Industrial Estate, not to mention American firm DTCC (The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation), a financial services company and electronics brands Sharp and Brother. Large food manufacturing sites such as Kelloggs, Cadbury and Rowan Foods can also be found nearby.
Strategic connectivity for networked companies
Ask Wrexham’s businesses or any of the area’s other prevailing companies what the area has to offer and they will speak generously about the town’s strategic connectivity. Its critical location on the England-Wales border, plus easy transport links to North and South England, Scotland and South Wales, are of huge benefit to national and international companies requiring efficient interconnection with the rest of the UK and world.
A skilled and growing workforce
Businesses setting up home in the town will also find a growing population of more than 65,000. As the fourth largest urban centre in Wales, the town provides access to a skilled workforce. Wrexham Glyndwr University offers both undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with approximately 8,000 full time students and over 350 from outside the UK.
Investing in Wrexham
It rightly follows that Wrexham remains a key focus of our investment strategy in Wales. We have no less than seven new build developments in the pipeline at Wrexham Industrial Estate, totalling 2.2m sq ft. Construction is already underway on three sites and an additional 47 acres were acquired at the end of last year.
In 2021 we also broadened our reach and service offer by partnering with F Lloyd (Penley) Ltd, an 833,000 sq ft warehousing and distribution company on the estate. F Lloyd provides long and short term warehousing and storage solutions for local businesses. Meanwhile, we’re growing our asset management portfolio with 21,000 sq ft of multi-let industrial units on Bryn Lane.
Responding to market demand
We’re already seeing high demand for our new spaces. The industrial sector as a whole performed well during the pandemic and as occupancy bounces back in other markets, interest in high quality, fit-for-purpose industrial units is only growing further. We’re now actively taking reservations for unit 50b, a 25,000 sq ft space on Clywedog Road North, 72b, a 45,000 sq ft unit on Clywedog Road East as well as all 11 units at Wrexham Point.
So Wrexham is clearly the place to be for growing commercial businesses in the 21st century. If you’re on the lookout for a new place to call home, what are you waiting for?
Click here to find out more information about FI Real Estate Management’s portfolio in Wrexham.