One of Wales’s biggest export focused firms, Net World Sports, is tripling its warehouse and office capacity as it embarks on further expansion.
The global provider of sports equipment is consolidating its current 130,000 sq ft of space across eight different locations with a new 411,000 sq ft facility in Wrexham.
With support from Lloyds Bank, the £25m development will allow the business to operate from one facility – housing range of more than 10,000 products including sports, fitness, leisure, home, and garden equipment.
The new facility for the firm’s 230 staff will provide five meeting rooms, a large boardroom, restaurant, running track, tennis court, football pitch, gym, and yoga studio.
A dedicated research and development space will also allow the product and design team to create new product innovation while a purpose-built photo studio will give the visual content team a space to capture new footage and images of merchandise.
The new facility is due to complete by the end of October, with 173,000 sq ft of storage space available to rent. The business is also exploring the addition of solar panels and electric vehicles charging points to increase the building’s energy-efficiency.
Alex Lovén, founder and managing director, Net World Sports said: “During the Covid-19 pandemic, demand for products like gym equipment and golf nets soared. In February 2020 we had 18,000 orders which by April of the same year, grew to 86,000.
“We decided it was the perfect time to invest in a new facility that would allow us to house our products in one space and create an environment that our staff would love. We also expanded our offering in line with changing consumer demand and introduced new products like hot tubs, so we knew we’d need more space.
“Thanks to the support from Lloyds Bank, we’ve been able to create a new workplace that supports our ambitious growth plans while creating jobs for local people. I can’t wait to open the doors in October and continue scaling-up the business.”
In 2021, the business’ revenue increased to £70m, up from £28m in 2019, with international trade making up 60% of the total. Staff numbers have also more than doubled from 103 in 2020 to 230 currently.
Amanda Wood and Susie Power, joint relationship directors at Lloyds Bank, said: “We’re all aware of the significant disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, so to see such a strong success story come from this time is hugely encouraging.
“Net World Sports has experienced rapid growth over the past few years which has created some great employment opportunities for the local area. Acting quickly has allowed the business to drive its expansion plans and I’m really looking forward to seeing the final product in a few months.
“We’ll continue to be by the side of businesses like Net World Sports as they continue to thrive and capitalise on ambitious growth opportunities.”
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