Swissport, one of the world’s leading cargo-handling companies, will extend its stay at SEGRO’s Heathrow Cargo Centre at Heathrow Airport following the re-gear of its lease.
The company, which handles approximately 4.8 million tons of cargo annually, has signed a 10-year lease at a market rent on a 104,000 sq ft warehouse unit on Shoreham Road.
Gareth Baker, Regional Director for Heathrow at SEGRO, said:
“This long-term commitment ensures Swissport and its customers can continue to benefit from our well-positioned, airside cargo facilities at Heathrow Airport, which are integral to the efficient and reliable movement of goods.
“Swissport’s decision also reflects the importance of Heathrow Airport for UK exports and imports and the strong demand for the properties in our portfolio. We’re pleased to extend our relationship so we can continue working together to capitalise on future growth opportunities for air cargo in the UK.”
Jason Gaskell COO Cargo Western Europe at Swissport, added:
“Heathrow remains key to our UKI Cargo operations, our commitment to SEGRO’s Heathrow Cargo Centre will allow Swissport to strengthen its air cargo operations and service capabilities at Heathrow airport allowing our customers a stable platform for further growth.”
The Cargo Centre, which comprises 1.2m sq ft of space in total, has a unique airside location which offers direct access to the apron, reducing waiting times and providing more certainty around deliveries. The agreement of the new terms with Swissport follows long-term commitments from Air Canada and Worldwide Flight Services which have both re-geared leases in 2019.
The lease includes a clause which gives SEGRO the ability to progress a future redevelopment of the Cargo Centre to support the proposed expansion of the airport and benefit customers including Swissport.
SEGRO is the leading owner and manager of airside cargo facilities in the UK, with a portfolio of 2.2 million sq ft across Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports. Swissport is one of SEGRO’s largest airside customers, occupying 185,000 sq ft in total across the three sites.
Heathrow Airport is the UK’s largest cargo hub, with over 1.6 million metric tons transported through the airport in the year June 2018 – May 2019.