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13
Jan
Chinese manufacturing giant moves UK HQ to historic Harrogate chapel
China’s largest manufacturer and exporter of textiles and apparel has relocated its UK headquarters to a converted church in Harrogate.
Dishang UK was established 20 years ago and was previously based in The Exchange building, next to Harrogate railway station.
It bought The Chapel, an 8,000 sq ft grade II listed building on Grove Road, in December 2024 and has since converted it from residential use.
Richard Watts, managing director of Dishang UK, said the anniversary and the office move reflected the long-term vision behind the UK operation:
Reaching 20 years in the UK is a proud moment for everyone involved. What we’ve built in Harrogate is a highly skilled team focused on innovation, integrity and long-term customer success.
The move to The Chapel is a natural next step, giving us a space that reflects both the scale of Dishang’s global manufacturing capability and the collaborative way we work with our customers across the UK and Europe.
Different incarnations
The new headquarters were built in 1896 as a Methodist chapel, but dwindling congregations led to its sale in 2013 to art-lover Mark Hinchcliffe. He renovated the building and converted it into a unique bed and breakfast, even winning Channel 4’s Four in a Bed B&B competition in 2018.
The property spent four years on the market, initially listed for £1.5 million in 2020. The asking price fell to £1 million in April 2023, before dropping to £850,000-plus when it went to auction.
Under Dishang UK's ownership it has been fully refurbished and now houses 10 dedicated showrooms, each focused on a specific product category, as well as a fabric library and design spaces. The aim is to enable the firm to showcase its end-to-end manufacturing capability in one central UK location.
$2.6 billion turnover
Dishang UK works with some of the UK and Europe’s largest brands in the fashion, workwear, uniforms and performance apparel markets, and has registered consistent 20 per cent year-on-year growth over the past two decades.
Dishang UK’s turnover topped $100 million in 2025, and globally Dishang Group’s turnover stands at $2.6 billion, with a 50,000-strong workforce.
The completion of the project was officially marked in December when general manager Kris Zhu travelled from Dishang Group’s head office in Weihai, China, to cut the red ribbon at The Chapel during the company’s annual team development day.
Dishang UK employs a 46-strong team of designers, garment technologists and business development specialists, working directly with Dishang’s global manufacturing network to deliver products for major brands.
Investment
Parent company Dishang Group operates 90 wholly-owned factories with a combined annual capacity of 54 million garments, supported by more than 200 certified partner factories, bringing total output to approximately 100 million pieces annually.
The group is investing heavily in AI-supported design, 3D development, automation and digital platforms to improve efficiency, traceability and sustainability across its supply chain.
The Harrogate-based UK operation plays a central role in connecting European brands directly to this global capability.
Andrew Thomson, general manager at Dishang UK, said:
Our role is to help brands turn ideas into commercially successful products faster and more efficiently. Being based in the UK, with direct access to Dishang’s global manufacturing and innovation teams, allows us to support some of the largest and most demanding brands in the UK and Europe at every stage of the process.
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