Peterborough depot moves drives courier business forward

A move to Titan Drive is giving a Peterborough-based courier firm the space to grow both branches of its business-to-business services, confirms local commercial property agents.

The 7,327 sq ft warehouse premises at 13 Titan Drive has been let through the joint agency of Eddisons and Savills who acted on behalf of client, The Canal & River Trust in securing the courier business – which trades as Fast Forward Direct and APC-Peterborough – as the final tenant on the Fengate estate which is now fully let.

Fast Forward Direct is a same day service that Mario & Amanda Chappell, as Co-Directors, have built up since 2015. Accelerated growth, particularly in the past three years, saw the firm in position to establish the regional operation of the nationwide parcel business, APC Overnight earlier this year.

Both trading operations consolidate with the move to Titan Drive. The increase in depot space, in the large warehouse unit in Peterborough, sees Mario & Amanda Chappell and their team of 25-plus workforce of drivers, warehouse and back office operation, further able to build up the Peterborough-APC side of the business even more.

The new side of the business provides business-to-business delivery services in sectors as specialist as composites, aerospace, pharmaceuticals and construction. At the same time, the original courier business continues to grow in delivering services to more small-to-medium sized businesses across the Greater Peterborough region and beyond.

Speaking about the new premises, Mario Chappell said, “Titan Drive gives us the opportunity to scale-up our operations in what, by its very nature, is a fast-moving business with timed deadlines to meet the tight demands of modern supply chains.

“Peterborough is perfectly placed for both our courier operations. Our workforce is locally recruited, and it’s a location from where we can fulfil the regional reach of our patch in a time efficient way.”

Gavin Hynes, Director, Eddisons, added, “It’s satisfying that the scaling-up needs of a local independent business can still be met by the city’s traditional industrial offering such as Fengate.

“While, of course, there are new estates and schemes being developed around Peterborough, there remains a strong demand for premises in the city’s Eastern Industry district.”