Associated British Ports plans to develop more than 1,000 acres of land for logistics and renewable energy industries

The UK’s largest ports operator, Associated British Ports (ABP) is planning on developing more than 1,000 acres of land to support the supply chain, manufacturing, and renewable energy industries.

ABP currently operated 21 ports across the UK, and will be making 14 strategic sites, covering a total of 1,075 acres, available for multiple uses.

The growth of e-commerce in the UK has spurred on demand for space, as the UK’s annual online spend is worth almost £100 billion. The UK’s online spending ratio is set to rise from 24% to 32% by 2025.

The 14 sites being brought forward at ports include Cardiff, Immingham, Newport, Port Talbot, Southampton, and Hull. The next year there will be further opportunities. All locations have strong rail and road connectivity, as well as renewable energy generation.

Henrik L. Pedersen, Chief Executive Officer of ABP said: “This initiative will enable a growing number of businesses to leverage our land, property partnering expertise and power capacity. We believe this can make a significant contribution to the country’s economic vibrancy and supply chain efficiency.”

“The country needs more distribution hubs adjacent to major conurbations with a good labour supply and which can connect into our road and rail networks. These ABP sites are superbly situated to do just that.

“The need for more warehouse space to fulfil online retailing – which is growing and was accelerated by the pandemic – plus ongoing labour shortages are putting unprecedented pressure on the UK’s supply chain,” added Bruce Robertson, Head of Supply Chain and Consumer Advisory at CBRE – which is advising ABP on the initiative.