Richard Fantham
Lease Advisory specialists at Harris Lamb have successfully advised on a new ten-year lease at a Black Country distribution warehouse unit on behalf of a leading workwear and leisurewear wholesaler.
BTC Activewear sought the advice of the business Professional team as their existing lease at Opus 9, the company’s 105,000 sq ft HQ and distribution centre on Axletree Way, Wednesbury, neared expiration.
Richard Fantham, of Harris Lamb’s Lease Advisory team, said: “The commercial market for high quality warehouse properties adjacent to Motorway junctions is currently both challenging and evolving and it has never been more important for occupiers nearing the end of their leases to seek expert professional advice on their next steps prior to making decisions about their future.
“BTC Activewear have occupied this facility for a number of years, and were approaching the expiry of their current lease. Thanks to our access to market intelligence and supply-and-demand data, our team provided the business with a transparent picture of the current marketplace and we were instructed to enter negotiations with the landlord’s representatives, eventually agreeing terms for a further ten-year term to enable them to continue operating from the site.”
Jeb Lewis, of BTC Activewear, said: “We are well aware of the demand for properties of the size in this location, and we were concerned that reports of rents being driven up as a result of this could work to our detriment. However, we were extremely pleased with the up-to-date, relevant market information that the Harris Lamb team provided us with, and that they were able to advise us on acceptable terms to renew the lease and oversee negotiations to secure settlement.”
Established in the West Midlands by way of a merger of three existing companies in 2000, BTC Activewear was acquired in 2022 by Swedish firm New Wave Group.AB in a multi-million-pound deal. The business sells a wide range of sportswear, casual wear and workwear, and has become one of the UK’s largest wholesale clothes distributors, selling approximately 50 different clothing brands, including Nike, Regatta, Helly Hansen and Fruit of the Loom.
