A gymnastics club has agreed a deal for space in a mill complex in Halifax town centre.
The club, [jim-nas-tiks] is the latest new occupier to take space at Dean Clough, and has taken 8,146 sq ft space on a 15-year lease.
Formerly known as Matt's Gym Club, which operated at Trinity Academy in Halifax, [jim-nas-tiks] was developed following the pandemic lockdown by former Great Britain Gymnast and national number two Matthew Brooks and his wife Kirsty.
With 560 existing members, the new space will allow further growth, and will feature the latest Olympic standard equipment and expert tuition.
Landlord Dean Clough Ltd has shared the £150,000 fit out costs with the club.
The listed building, which required planning consent for change of use had been unused for a number of years. Major works include structural alterations, new access routes to car parking, external fascia cleaning and significant internal installations including a new split-level floor.
The concept of [jim-nas-tiks] is focused around providing non-competitive physical activity to allow young people to thrive and improve their self-esteem, happiness, and confidence. The name relates to how children would spell by phonics and the brand positioning uses stick people to demonstrate activities.
Matthew Brooks said: "We are so excited to be able to open a bigger and better [jim-nas-tiks] at Dean Clough. Never in our dreams could we have imagined being able to secure a space in such an established place within a vibrant community.
"The fact that the landlord has offered great flexibility, and even shared the costs for fit out, shows that they are also invested in making our venture a success and can see the value of our offer to the existing Dean Clough community."
Jeremy Hall, chairman and managing director at Dean Clough Ltd, added: "We are delighted to share the news that [jim-nas-tiks] is joining the family here at Dean Clough. Whilst much of our space has been transformed to offer high quality workspace of various sizes and flexible terms, we are always mindful of providing a good balance of amenity for not just our occupiers, but also the wider Halifax community.
"This is the second deal in as many weeks at Dean Clough as the UK largest online florist Prestige Gifting, agreed a deal to expand its headquarters into a fantastic new 9,677 space here. We have also welcomed six small business occupiers in recent months with nearly 10,000 sq ft of space under offer."
Dean Clough comprises 16 Victorian mill buildings stretching over half a mile to accommodate three quarters of a million sq ft of workspace. They were constructed between 1840 and 1870 by the Crossley family, who founded Crossley Carpets in 1822. The subsequent decline in the textile industry forced closure in 1982 after which the complex was purchased for redevelopment.
Since acquiring the historic site nearly 40 years ago, Dean Clough Ltd has invested tens of millions to fund the regeneration project. The facility is now home to more than 100 organisations employing about 3,000 people.
