Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF) has announced that plans are in place for a new 45,000 sq ft new build opportunity at Hartlebury Trading Estate in Worcestershire.
Hartlebury 45 will provide high specification warehouse and office space at Worcestershire’s largest commercial estate, as well as a 538 sq ft yard area and 61 car parking spaces.
Having secured permission for the building and cleared a site on the estate for its construction, occupiers wanting to establish themselves at the business park can now fast-track the build project and could be operational in as little as 12 months.
SREF recently announced that a world-leading assistive devices developer, ETAC, had signed a pre-let agreement for a purpose-built 30,000 sq ft distribution facility at Hartlebury Trading Estate, while a trio of lettings at units 16a, 71 and 334 were all completed within weeks of going to the market.
Rob Cosslett, acting fund manager for Schroder UK Real Estate Fund (SREF), Schroders Capital, said: “Demand for industrial space across the UK continues to grow as Covid-19 fast-forwards the growth of online retail and prompts companies to review their supply chains and hold extra stocks of key items. To help cater for this demand, SREF continues to seek opportunities to grow its industrial presence and this includes expanding facilities at our existing assets. Hartlebury 45 presents us with an opportunity within our portfolio to provide high quality warehouse and office for our occupiers.
“It is key that we maintain our approach to active asset management across our UK portfolio to ensure our assets continue to meet the needs of current and new occupiers – this is central to our investment strategy and has borne fruit with our recent series of long-term lettings at Hartlebury Trading Estate to ambitious and growing occupiers.”
Rupert Jeffries of Collingwood Rigby, SREF’s asset managers for the estate, commented: “Demand for opportunities at Hartlebury Trading Estate is high, with the site currently experiencing record low void rates. Just last month we broke ground on a 30,000 built-to-suit distribution centre for ETAC, and this opportunity means that we are able to offer prospective new occupiers the chance to move into another brand-new building at the site.
“Having secured permission from planners at Wychavon District Council, we can work with our tenants to build a high-specification warehouse and office, with fully fitted turnkey opportunities available. The resulting building will have extensive parking and yard-space and benefit from the high-power availability, excellent connectivity and the secure business environment that we offer to all of our tenants.”
The building specification comprises of a single-storey steel portal framed building with an integral mezzanine office, with a clear warehouse internal height of 10m, dock and level access doors and maximum floor loading of 50kN/m2. The fully fitted office accommodation will include raised floors, suspended ceilings, recessed lighting, carpeting, and gas fired heating.
Hartlebury Trading Estate, which has been owned by the SREF since 2013 is the leading business park in Worcestershire, offering excellent access links to the UK motorway network via its close proximity to the M5 and M42. The estate currently houses 90 businesses in 130 building ranging from 500 sq ft to more than 100,000 sq ft in a fully landscaped environment that extends over 230 acres.
Rupert added: “Opportunities of this kind within the Midlands are rare. Even throughout the pandemic, demand for high-quality industrial stock across Worcestershire and the West Midlands has out stripped supply, and we are confident that the chance to occupy a further purpose-built hub in this key location will be well received.”
Occupiers at the Hartlebury Trading Estate include FedEx, TNT, Worcester County Council, Grafton Group, EDM Group and Forest Garden.