Warhammer figurine maker Games Workshop will soon plough millions of its record-breaking profits back into its Nottingham headquarters to build a new factory. The globally-dominant wargaming giant has outlined its intent to spend millions of pounds on expanding its manufacturing complex on Willow Road, in Lenton, so it can keep up with soaring demand for its miniatures.
The company behind the Warhammer 40,000 phenomenon unveiled plans to build a new factory to continue its impressive growth last month, and now further details have emerged about the expansion scheme. This proposed workshop, which is pending planning permission from Nottingham City Council, would cost £9 million to complete according to the firm’s recently filed financial results.
The financial records revealed the land for the fourth factory had been purchased in 2020 at a cost of £2.7 million. CEO Kevin Rountree, writing in Games Workshop’s end-of-year filings, said: "We are proud to manufacture our product in Nottingham which is the centre of expertise for our global business.
“It’s where we started and where we intend to stay.” More than 350 staff currently work at the site’s three existing factories to produce millions of the popular figures, with the directors hoping the fourth factory will be open by spring 2026.
I went through some decades where the whole tabletop gaming industry seemed like it could go under. Really exciting to see how great the hobby is doing now. I just hope the dominating power of GW and WOTC doesn’t strangle the market long term, but I’m happy to see them growing for now.
That’s always a concern, especially as GW is such a big beast in the UK market. However, from what I’ve seen it seems to be a great training ground for people working in the games industry (on all levels) who then go off to form their own businesses. Nottingham has become a contender for gaming capital of the UK as a result.