Beyond Retail eyes £100m turnover with new unit at Bournemouth business park

Published by

Daniel Face

Elliot Lees-Bell (centre), MD of Beyond Retail, with director of warehouse operations Jim Younger (right), and Mike Murray, commercial real estate director for Rigby Real Estate (left), inside the new unit

Bathroom, kitchen and heating business Beyond Retail is targeting £100 million turnover by 2026 after acquiring a new warehouse at Bournemouth Airport’s Aviation Business Park.

The company began life in 2011 selling taps online before first moving into the park around eight years ago.

It’s since been propelled by the boom in DIY during the pandemic, as well as its investment in augmented and virtual reality technology to offer virtual showroom experiences to customers.

Up until recently, Beyond Retail had grown to occupy six office and warehouse units at the Rigby Real Estate-owned Aviation Business Park, with a total footprint of almost 100,000 sq ft.

Hear the latest insights from property experts on The Business Magazine’s new podcast

Now, though, the company has opted to consolidate its operation into two larger, modern units following purchases last summer and at the end of last year.

It now boasts 34,000 sq ft of warehousing space and two storeys of offices.

Elliot Lees-Bell, founder and MD of Beyond Retail, said: “We went from zero to £50 million turnover in 10 years, and from despatching 250 orders to 250,000 in the same timeframe.

“We now have eight million visitors a year to our websites, so it’s been quite a journey.

“Aviation Business Park has been a big part of that, and the combination of office and warehousing space coupled with good access has served us really well.

“Having just taken on the new warehouse and offices we plan to consolidate some of our existing office space.

“That will be bittersweet because it’s where the business grew up, but the reality is that post-Covid we have fewer office-based staff and more people spread across the UK, so our needs have changed.

“Our aim is to reach £100 million turnover by 2026, and as we continue to scale it’s vital that we hold onto the great culture and values that we’ve always had.”

Beyond Retail’s latest warehouse was developed by Rigby Real Estate – part of Rigby Group, which also owns and operates neighbouring Bournemouth Airport.

The unit was built by Christchurch-based contractor Mildren Construction.

Mike Murray, commercial real estate director for Rigby Real Estate, added: “Beyond Retail has a long association with the Aviation Business Park, and we’re delighted they’ve taken our newest unit to support their continued growth.

“Elliot and the team have built an amazing business in a relatively short time and we’re proud to be part of their journey.”

Beyond Retail is currently one of 200 businesses based at Aviation Business Park – a number which could be set to grow, as the park has consent for another million square feet of development.

That growth could support 2,600 new jobs and generate an additional £100 million a year for the Dorset economy.

Daniel Face

Born and raised in Berkshire, Dan fell into journalism after completing his bachelor’s degree in English at UCL. Writing for The Business Magazine and local Biz News sites has given him the opportunity to chat with all manner of small business owners and share their success stories with a wider audience. Outside of work, Dan enjoys live music, board games and quiz shows, and is making a slow but persistent effort to learn Spanish.