Beginning its expansion into the UK in early 2020, NicLen UK has now become an important part of the NicLen family, alongside its headquarters in Germany and bases in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland. The UK operation recently moved into a new warehouse location, over five times the size of its previous space. Heading up the UK operation is Managing Director, Luke Merrilees who gives TPi a brief history of the branch.
Having already worked in the dry hire business, Merrilees knew the team from NicLen in Germany and together decided to open a UK base for the business, spotting a gap in the market for a purely dry hire company that provides a large portfolio of lighting, audio, rigging and video equipment with a broad range of brands and options available across all sectors, along with the stock levels to cover projects of all sizes.
Breaking ground early in 2020, the pandemic inevitably slowed growth, although Merrilees enthused how his partners in Germany stood by him. “It was a tough time to start a business but thankfully we were still a small team in the UK then. We were offered a few rentals in the height of COVID, but the prices were far lower than usual. Due to the support of the German base, we felt confident to say no, with the foresight that we wanted to protect the value of the products we’d invested in as well as our own customers investments.”
Post-pandemic and the boom in the UK events space that followed, meant that NicLen UK was able to increase staffing levels and pull forward the need for more warehouse space. Merrilees added: “NicLen has been going for over 30 years in Europe, and always saw huge potential in the UK market so, with Brexit looming, it made sense to have a location and personnel in the UK. “The growth we’ve experienced over the past five years – even after COVID – is a testament to the hard work of our team and the outstanding support we’ve had from NicLen’s German office.”
Growing into the 25,000 sq ft warehouse at the tail end of last year, NicLen UK has no intention of slowing its development. “When we first viewed our new space, we were intimidated by how big it was but when our stock was put in, it filled up quickly so racking is next on the agenda,” he added. “We are planning to continue investing in new equipment and infrastructure and also want to get our name out there more. We’ve been lucky with those customers and suppliers that have long-lasting relationships with us – we really appreciate them.” NicLen now hires 10 staff in the UK, often taking on freelancers to cover its workload, but it aims to grow steadily and solidly.
Taking pride in stocking equipment from all the major and most popular manufacturers, as well as lesser-known or more budget-friendly options is important to NicLen UK. “We of course have the big brands, but we also aim to be as accessible as possible to customers of all sizes. The fact that we can access equipment from our German HQ means we have an even deeper and broader portfolio readily accessible for the UK market to use, making us very agile.
It was important to Merrilees that the growth also benefitted the UK. “We try to buy from UK distributors so that we can start to build a solid relationship with them,” He commented. “We have fantastic relationships in Europe, and we wanted to extend the support we’re receiving there to the UK.
“Buying in the UK and renting into the UK means that the money benefits the country’s economy while also supporting our local distributors,” Merrilees explained. “It’s better for the environment, better for the economy and also better for the staff who have been able to forge relationships important with those companies.”
It is also worth noting that the NicLen family offers far more to its customers than just its dry hire services, with several other subsidiary companies under its umbrella. This includes publitec as a distribution partner and reseller; tecAID, which specialises in repair and maintenance of technology equipment; Rudi Deluxe for used equipment sales; and PRIME logistics, the group’s event trucking solution. “We also have the Creator’s Corner for some of our more unique or ‘funkier’ products that might not be to everyone’s taste but give designers a chance to experiment and create more unique designs for their projects.”
To close, Merrilees outlined what he hopes the future might hold for Niclen UK. “While we have major growth plans and some exciting things on the horizon, we are careful to make sure we do things right. Some people still don’t know who NicLen UK are and what we have to offer, so it is very important for us to increase brand awareness and really show off what we can do and how we can help the industry on a dry hire basis while ensuring longevity and real client relationships.
“We have also recently started our transport and logistics offering in the UK, which includes some free and subsidised solutions in the hope of making it easier for our customers to benefit from using NicLen UK as their dry hire partner.”
Words: Alicia Pollitt
Photos: NicLen UK
