One of Australia’s biggest logistics property groups claims it will create hundreds of British jobs if its plan to build a Derbyshire “big hut” is approved.
Goodman — which owns, develops and manages warehouses and large scale logistics facilities around the world — wants permission to extend its Derby Commercial Park with a new warehouse big enough to cover three football pitches. Work on the 323,895 sq ft building would start early next year.
Situated two miles east of Derby, and close to the M1 motorway, the Australian listed company spent more than £22m preparing the site before starting on its first build-to-suit development for brewers Heineken. Its £45m national distribution centre is now up and running.
Goodman is also looking for tenants for 700,000 sq ft of industrial and warehouse units on the park and has permission to go ahead with another 514,000 sq ft of docked distribution space.
Its decision to speculatively build a multi-million pound unit of this size comes after more than six years of hesitancy from investors and, since 2008, legislation making developers liable for business rates on empty commercial premises.
“With strong demand for logistics space across the UK and the lack of Grade A space available, we feel this is the right time to drive our existing land bank forward,” explained Charles Crossland, managing director of Goodman UK Logistics.
The decision to go ahead with the Derby Commercial Park follows a partnership deal with the UK real estate investment and asset management group Anglesea Capital.
In a statement the financier said: “Goodman is a leading developer in the UK market and in the next 12 months, there will be continuing opportunities to develop new Grade A stock.”
Innes England has been appointed agents for the new warehouse. “This is a real boost for Derby and an endorsement for Commercial Park as one of the key logistics schemes in the region and the country,” commented the firm’s associate director Stuart Waite.
“Retailers, third-party logistics operators and the automotive sector are particularly active in the market at the moment,” he added. “There is also a real lack of standing stock, so supply and demand dictates that it is the right time to build and Goodman has decided to position itself ahead of the competition.”
Launched 30 years ago, Goodman now has offices in 36 cities around the world with its staff managing and servicing over 400 global industrial and business sites.
Many of its long-term tenants are international brands, among them Amazon; pallet recycler Brambles; Coca-Cola Amatil; DB Schenker the rail subsidiary of German Deutsche Bahn; Deutsche Post; DSV the North-East transport group; Vodafone and Unilever.
