THE Unicorn Group has completed a multi-million-pound purchase of the former Coca-Cola site in Lambeg comprising industrial, storage and office facilities totalling 17.5 acres.
And over the next six months the company plans to relocate its head office and existing manufacturing sites in Lisburn and Markethill to the new location.
The company, as well as heavily investing in its own manufacturing facility, has plans to re-develop the 266,470sq ft property into a multi-purpose business, warehousing and manufacturing campus style business park opening the site up for rental opportunities to other businesses.
Unicorn Group is a privately-owned Northern Irish company with a diverse portfolio of businesses manufacturing interlocking PVC floor tiles, washroom products, medical and recycling bins currently exporting to more than 40 countries mainly Western Europe but as far afield as Chile, India, Australia and UAE.
The business has grown by more than 40 per cent in the last two years and in 2016 acquired a Belgian-based company, transferring production from mainland Europe to Northern Ireland.
Unicorn employs 74 people across its three businesses and have recently recruited multi-lingual employees for it business development, sales, marketing and product development teams. It is currently recruiting a further five people for sales, R&D and production supervisor roles.
Roger Pannell, managing director of Unicorn Group, said: “We are rapidly out growing our existing facilities and the Lambeg site is an opportunity for us to have all our business production and administration in one location.
"This relocation has the added benefit of providing existing and new staff the opportunity to develop their careers within the expanded business.
“We have strengthened our existing workforce recently with a recruitment drive and are excited about the future of our manufacturing operations in Northern Ireland. The hard work and dedication of our workforce has enabled us make this step. In addition to our own workforce, once the site is fully developed we will be encouraging small and large businesses to join us at the refurbished business park which will further enhance jobs in the area”.
Unicorn Group also specialise in the acquisition of businesses and has completed deals across the UK, Ireland, Belgium and Spain.
Mr Pannell added: “We’ve been acquiring businesses for the past twenty years and have focused on growing our business and manufacturing operations in Northern Ireland. Unicorn Group are actively looking for more businesses to acquire.”
