By PAUL PARKER

Small firms are being given a chance to expand and create more than 100 jobs in a mill which has just been bought by a property management firm.

IMEX, a subsidiary of London-based Mentmore Abbey Plc, has paid £800,000 for Holroyd Mills in Carrbottom Road, Bradford, which was previously occupied by dental products firm Pro Care where 130 staff once worked.

The firm, based in Birmingham, plans to spend thousands of pounds refurbishing the two-storey mill which includes the neighbouring Bankfield House - currently occupied by 3M Unitek, a division of 3M Healthcare.

The company will let the 45,000 sq ft of space as offices and workshops ideally suited for fledgling firms.

Keith Gleghorn, the firm's regional director, said: "We derive great pleasure from seeing businesses develop and grow in our centres. Once the business park achieves a certain level of occupancy, a real sense of community is formed between tenants.

"We also find that many of the businesses provide each other with services," he added. He said the firm was founded in Yorkshire and was always looking at ways of doing business in the region.

Helen Wright, a spokeswoman for IMEX, said the company would use local firms to carry out the refurbishment which would give the local economy a boost.

IMEX is the UK's leading provider of managed workspace for small and medium-sized businesses and has more than 150 sites in its portfolio.

It was part of the Huddersfield-based Birkby Group which was recently taken over by Mentmore Abbey. The group's regional headquarters are in Linthwaite, Huddersfield and many of its managed workspaces in the region are in the town.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.