Burberry to provide over 1000 jobs with £50m investment in Yorkshire manufacturing facility

British global luxury brand Burberry has revealed plans to develop a new state-of-the-art manufacturing and weaving facility in South Bank, Leeds.

The proposed development reflects an initial investment of over £50m in the centre of Yorkshire and is expected to provide permanent employment for more than a thousand people. Work on the new site is due to begin in 2016 with a current completion date of 2019.

The proposed site will allow Burberry to continue to produce its iconic product, the heritage trench coat, in Yorkshire where the brand has been manufacturing for over half a century.

The proposal is divided into phases of development. The first phase will see an area of the South Bank site redeveloped to create a new facility that will offer increased capacity for trench coat production, more sustainable and efficient ways of manufacturing, and the potential to develop and produce other products at the site.

Subsequent phases of development contain plans to restore and renew the Grade I listed Temple Works building.

Christopher Bailey, Burberry chief creative and chief executive officer, said: “I am delighted to announce that the next chapter of Burberry’s manufacturing story will be right here in Yorkshire. Burberry is a proudly British brand and we are so excited that our plan for a new site in South Bank, Leeds, means that we will continue to produce our most iconic product – the trench coat – in this wonderful part of the country for many years to come.”

Councillor Judith Blake, Leader of Leeds City Council, added: “This is wonderful news for Leeds which has its own rich heritage of cloth making and weaving. Burberry is a truly global British brand and it is an honour that the trench coat, an icon that is sought after around the world, will be made in Leeds’ South Bank. We welcome this significant investment in Leeds and are proud that Yorkshire will continue to be the manufacturing home of this great British business, bringing jobs, training and regeneration to the area.”

The new facility will replace the two existing manufacturing and weaving centres in Castleford and Cross Hills. As part of the proposals, Burberry will be facilitating their regeneration for the local communities. The plan is for all current teams from Castleford and Cross Hills to relocate to the new site, bringing all employees under one roof.

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