Gazeley to speculatively develop 745,000 sq ft plus mega shed

Gazeley is proposing to speculatively develop a 746,478 sq ft warehouse at its Magna Park Lutterworth scheme in the East Midlands subject to planning.

The huge facility is one of four properties on a speculative scheme totalling 1.3 million sq ft being brought forward by Gazeley following its acquisition of a 220-acre tranche of land from DB Symmetry, known as Magna Park South.

In a planning statement regarding the new mega shed and the intention to raise its external eaves height to 21m, Gazeley said it wished to “proceed as swiftly as possible following a grant of planning permission” on the scheme.

A spokesperson for Gazeley said: “Having received outline planning permission for the broader expansion of Magna Park, we can confirm that we have submitted a Reserved Matters application for four new buildings at Magna Park Lutterworth. We have seen strong levels of customer demand for space at Magna Park Lutterworth and this application is a response to that demand. We look forward to working with the Council and other stakeholders in the coming months to bring forward this exciting development.”

The new cross-dock mega shed will boast 18m eaves, 100 dock and eight level access doors and will have parking for 557 cars and 150 trailers on a 31-acre site.

As usual with Gazeley it will also include a host of sustainability features and will reach BREEAM Excellent.

The last time such a large warehouse was built speculatively in the UK was in 2005/6 when HelioSlough, a joint venture between Slough Estates – now SEGRO – and Helios Properties, built the 750,431 sq ft Nimbus warehouse in Thorne, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire.

The scheme was forward funded to the tune of £42 million by CBRE Investors and was originally let to DHL/MFI on a ten-year lease at an annual rent of £3.075 million in 2007. The cross dock property has 15m eaves as well as 75 dock and 13 level access doors.

Following the collapse of MFI, the property was relet to The Range on a £20 year lease at a rent believed to be around £4 per sq ft with five yearly rent reviews. It was sold to Tritax Big Box REIT for £48.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.1% on the asset acquisition, assuming 5.8% purchase costs.

The new speculative mega shed is being constructed on a 220-acre plot of land bought by Gazeley to the south of Magna Park Lutterworth from Tritax Symmetry. This is allowing Gazeley to create what is considered the largest dedicated logistics park in Europe in one ownership.

The combination of all three sites Magna Park, Magna Park North and Symmetry Park – now known as Magna Park South – totals some 1,360 acres and could eventually have 15.8 million sq ft of buildings.

DTRE and Burbage Realty are advising.

By Liza Helps