Concrete manufacturer to move out of Gloucester Quays

By Nicky Godding

25 April 2024

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Gloucester Docks

Gloucester based concrete-moulder Numold is to sell its impressive canalside waterfront property in the middle of Gloucester Quays after 30 years.

It is a prime development location which is based within the vicinity of one the UK's most successful retail shopping outlets, with the historic docks as a stunning backdrop.

Of course it wasn't always based in such an incongruous location. While Numold has been based in Gloucester Docks since 1993, the manufacturer and exporter (now the only industrial company remaining in the docks) is now planning to move from its waterfront building.

When it moved into Gloucester Docks, the area was largely industrial. But in the early 2000s, Peel Developments began developing the outlet shopping destination, which is celebrating 15 years this year and reporting rising sales and footfall.

The location is hardly ideal for a concrete moulding company, being located on Merchants Road, in the heart of the Peel Group-owned Gloucester Quays, next to Pillar & Lucy House and directly opposite the Cinema and Five Guys restaurant.

With such a prominent position in the popular food quarter of Gloucester Quays, running a manufacturing business in the middle of a shopping centre which was built around them has been challenging, says Nubold.

It's not the only site which could see new construction soon.

Developer Rokeby Merchants is planning to turn

Their plan is to turn Downings 2, another old building, into new build, low energy, low carbon apartments with ‘work’ zones, balconies, canal-side views, car parking and EV charging. Pre-start planning is under way. The Downings Warehouse complex now has planning permission for a ten-story Downings Tower, a spectacular new residential landmark that will take Gloucester canal side to a new level – and either exciting or heretical according to taste.

Owner of Numold, Sue Jones said: “It will be interesting to see who will make this prime location something Gloucester will be proud of, perhaps a boutique hotel with waterfront restaurant with balconies with the beautiful sunsets over Llanthony Priory - watch this space”.

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.