£4m delivery of factory for HBS

HBS is a specialist importer and processor of edible nut products which it supplies to major supermarkets, breakfast cereal and confectionary manufacturers throughout the UK.

The £4 million factory is the latest project where MacMullen has taken a brief from a client, found a site and delivered a 'turnkey' building – allowing the client company to pursue its main business in the meantime.

Family-owned HBS had been in the Washington Centre, Netherton, for over 20 years and with nearly 50 experienced workers was keen to remain in the area. But the premises had reached bursting point, dealing with thousands of tons of high value nut and dried fruit products requiring critically clean manufacturing conditions.

The company's newly established online cereals shop, selling direct to the public, was attracting new customers daily but putting more pressure on available space.

Graham Hopcraft, chief executive of HBS, said: "We had struggled with finding somewhere new to go as our business was expanding exponentially. We really wanted a freehold as our needs are a bit specialist, and we were making a big investment – but we couldn't find a building or a site.

"Within weeks MacMullens found some land barely a quarter mile away and although it wasn't on the market, they found the owners and negotiated the purchase for us.

"They did everything we needed from helping with legals, appointing designers, helping rationalise our layouts and negotiating and supervising the building contract. They even dealt with local 'objectors' and spoke on our behalf at Dudley planning committee."

MacMullen's project director, Andrew Dickens said "It is very satisfying to take something from the germ of an idea and deliver a finished product to clients who know what they want - but really don't need the hassle of learning to be property developers.

"We take that load off their shoulders and because we understand every aspect of property we can plan and drive projects and present the client with recommended solutions for his approval."

He added "The project was very much a Black Country affair with Coseley architects Design to Build, engineering by Nolan Associates and built by A & H Construction of Halesowen."

Among MacMullen's previous high-profile projects is a 70,000 sq ft high security stamp printing works at the prestige i54 development site in Wolverhampton, which was opened by the Queen and Prince Philip last year.