Mansfield firm secures long-term future of town store with freehold purchase
Wilsons Carpets has confirmed the long-term future of its Mansfield store after completing the purchase of its store on Great Central Road.
The family-owned flooring retailer, which has traded in the town for more than10 years, has acquired the freehold of the site previously subject to a proposed change-of-use planning application.
This has now secured Wilsons’ continued investment in Mansfield.
The Great Central Road store is one of the company’s largest locations, serving customers from Mansfield and the wider Nottinghamshire area.
Wilsons Carpets, founded in South Yorkshire in 1968, operates 19 stores across the region and stocks more than one million square metres of flooring.
The company offers a wide range of carpets, artificial grass, laminate flooring, vinyl and beds.
James Wilson, sales director, said: “Completing the purchase of the Mansfield property is a very positive step for the business and for the town.
“It allows us to plan for the long term, to continue investing in the store and its people, and to keep serving our customers without the uncertainty that comes with being a tenant.
"Mansfield is an important part of our network and we are pleased to be putting down permanent roots here.”
The company says the acquisition underlines its confidence in the Mansfield location and its commitment to remaining a significant local employer and retailer for many years to come.
It also puts to bed any fears that that it might be leaving its current home after fears were raised last year that the Great Central Road site was going to be converted into a self-storage facility.
Plans for that were submitted by the building’s freehold owners and landlords, a company called Mansfield Limited (ML), on behalf of specialist planning and development consultancy, Quod, based on Soho Square in London.
But at the time, Wilsons said the plans were ‘simply explatory’, amid ongoing talks with ML over the building’s future.
Wilsons said at the time that while they were aware of the landlord’s plans, they had no intention of closing the store.
Now, the issue has been brought to a positive conclusion on Wilsons’ part by securing the purchase of the building – ending any speculation about its future.