£100m funding for 1 million ft2 of warehouse space

NFU Mutual is investing £100 million with Clowes Developments to fund the development of six new logistics facilities in the UK totalling 1 million ft2.

The deal will see the delivery of six new Grade A logistics warehouses, five speculative and the sixth a pre-let across three of Clowes Development’s sites – EMDC, Castlewood Business Park and Centrix Park.

The size of the units will range from 58,586 sq ft at Centrix Park to a unit of close to 250,000 sq ft at EMDC. The pre-let unit is let to Deichmann-Shoes UK and totals 162,500 ft2 located at  Centrix Park, Corby. The property has already been granted planning permission and contractors, Winvic Construction, are on site. Practical completion is set for January 2022.

Two units of 176,817 ft2 and another of 134,192 ft2 will be developed on the last two plots at the 120-acre Castlewood Business Park at Junction 28 of the M1 motorway, while at EMDC there will be two larger buildings of 189,573 ft2 and 249,418 ft2.

James Richards, Director at Clowes Developments, said: “The deal demonstrates confidence in the marketplace. For NFU Mutual to entrust a significant amount of capital in Clowes Developments is recognition for how far the group has come. This deal is by far the biggest transaction we have concluded as a group to date, but we have other deals in the pipeline, and this is an exciting time for the company.

Paul Shanley, Director at Clowes Developments, added: “The deal with the NFU Mutual is a departure from our groups normal internal funding arrangements, primarily due to the size of the proposal. The financial strength of our group and reputation for delivery was a major factor in us being approached by NFU Mutual.

“Planning applications, where applicable, are ready to go and we expect to see site activity from late summer onwards. With the current shortage of good quality ‘big shed’ stock, the timing would appear just right to take advantage of market conditions.”

Jon Brice, NFU Mutual, said: “NFU Mutual are delighted to be working with Clowes Developments to bring through the development of these six prime industrial buildings in three prominent locations around the M1.

“This project forms a key part NFU Mutual’s strategy and we are excited to be partnering with Clowes Developments to deliver best in class space to the market.”

NFU Mutual was advised by Gowlings WLG, PSK and Burbage Realty.