A LONG standing Bradford business has thrived since being taken over by a larger company - with its city centre site getting a major refurbishment.

Uriah Woodhead builders' merchants has been based in the city since 1886, and late last year the business was taken over by Huws Gray.

Since then the business - based between Canal Road and Valley Road, has seen a huge amount of investment, from a refurbished showroom to newly tarmacked outdoor space.

Additional work planned for the site includes newly built units on a rear storage yard and the demolition of the empty building that faces onto Canal Road to create a more welcoming and obvious entrance to the site.

Although the loss of a long standing institution like Uriah Woodhead, once the biggest independent builders' merchant in the UK, would be a cause for concern for some, staff at the business say the takeover had offered more stability at a time when the industry was facing one of the most unpredictable times in recent history due to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Located on one of the main routes into Bradford city centre - the former Uriah Woodhead site sites in the shadow of Valley Parade, and covers a huge area.

Industrial units planned for vacant site in Listerhills area

As well as having vast outdoor storage areas, there are also huge warehouses and a large showroom.

It is now a part of Huws Gray, a family owned business that has over 100 branches in the UK, and will be a "hub" for other branches in Yorkshire due to the sheer size of its storage space.

Referring to the changes after the takeover, Branch Manager Zoheb Ahmed said: "They've invested so much into the site. Areas were completely run down, they've done so much work to improve it."

He said many staff transferred over, and Huws Gray was still looking to hire local people who know the area "inside out."

Chris Wheatcroft, assistant branch manager, said being part of a bigger brand like Huws Gray had increased the customer base of the business, and the company was in a much better place to source stock.

Unlike many larger companies, he said Huws Gray looked after its staff, with national bosses regularly visiting the site. He said: "You're a name here, a lot of places you're just a number."

He described the lockdown period as being "awful" for the business and said even now there was a huge demand in the building trade for items like steel and timber.

Mr Ahmed said: "A bigger company like Huws Gray has that buying power, it helps compete with other merchants."

Mr Wheatcroft added: "If we'd have still been Uriah Woodhead, then lockdown could have killed the business. We wouldn't have been able to get the stock we needed. Bigger businesses are treated as more of a priority."