Autolab selected as preferred bidder for Blackburn site

Blackburn with Darwen has selected Autolab as the company of choice to occupy land off Carl Fogarty Way, paving the way for a £4m expansion.

Autolab UK provides bespoke 4×4, specialist and customised vehicles to a wide range of customers, including A-list clients across the country. The firm has already expanded its high-end premises in Gate Street twice and had been set to previously move to land off Wainwright Way.

Now, with requirements for an even bigger plot, they’ve been named by Blackburn with Darwen Council as the preferred bidder for a large site off Carl Fogarty Way.

The site was offered for sale by the council by informal tender in March this year with more than 40 local and regional developers being invited to express an interest. Those bids were then judged on a range of detailed assessments, including quality of design, business needs, job creation and more.

The move would allow Autolab to create new jobs, adding to its existing team of 25.

Sajid Hussain, Autolab director, said: "More than 75 per cent of our customers are from outside of the borough and they will travel the length and breadth of the country to visit us because we have such an impressive reputation – this is great for generating income into the borough.

"This new site in Blackburn will be our flagship showroom with a production facility nearby servicing the retail offer. Our focus will not only be on developing our current business model, but also expanding our range of electric vehicles which is an important move forward.

"For the whole team, it was important that we kept the business in Blackburn with Darwen and its fantastic news that we’ve been chosen as the preferred bidder for this site."

Coun Phil Riley, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "This proposed scheme is just the type of development we are looking to welcome as part of the investment in Carl Fogarty Way. Better still, this offers the chance for us to support a successful Blackburn firm with their expansion plans.

"It’s impressive what the whole of the Autolab team have achieved since first launching a decade ago and we look forward to seeing what the future can bring, especially with a focus on electric vehicles."