Northamber shelves plans to turn Chessington HQ into flats

Distributor moves to "clarify misconceptions" over its plans for sales and marketing hub on Cox Lane industrial estate

Northamber has scotched suggestions that it is selling its Chessington headquarters.

The distributor issued CRN with a statement today confirming that, while it had considered converting its long-standing sales and marketing hub into flats, plans to move from the site have been halted.

According to local reports this morning, Northamber has submitted plans to turn the office, based on the edge of the Cox Lane industrial estate, into 28 residential apartments. A consultation on the matter is set to close on 18 April, the reports said.

But the distributor has moved quickly to "clarify some misconceptions" in the local media coverage of its plans.

"Plans to move from our Chessington site were halted, as can be seen from our significant expenditure in recent months updating our Chessington office," said Northamber strategy director Alex Phillips.

However, Phillips - who came on board in December - did admit Northamber had been exploring its options.

As well as Chessington, Northamber also owns its warehouse in Weybridge after buying the building and five-acre site in 2012 for £6.35m.

The two assets together are worth £8m, Phillips said, meaning Northamber "has the responsibility of frequently reviewing our facilities strategy for the benefit of our staff, customers and shareholders".

"The latest review of our facilities strategy looked at a number of options including the desirability of consolidating sales staff and warehouse into a single location, as well as opening additional sales offices to better serve our regional customers," Phillips said.

"Part of this process involved getting a better understanding of the potential value of our existing office site should we no longer need it. It was thought that converting the offices to homes might provide a better resale value and this option was explored."

Phillips' father, Northamber chairman David Phillips, struck an uncharacteristically upbeat tone in Northamber's latest results statement a month ago, despite it showing losses widening. "The start of this calendar year has seen notable improvements and enables confidence that progress is being achieved," Phillips said at the time.

The distributor also claims it is hiring again now following a difficult 2013 period that saw staff defect to rivals and contracts end with a string of high-profile vendors, including IBM.

Phillips (the younger) concluded:"Northamber's strong growth in headcount and performance ensure we will continue to invest in our facilities‎ and locations. We look forward to sharing our future plans."