AEW UK Core Property Fund has completed a major expansion project and secured a new lease agreement to double occupancy space for a key occupier at Wakefield 41 Business Park.
Integrated Third Party Logistics (ITPL), which has occupied Wakefield 41 since 2011 has expanded its premises from 100,000 sq ft to 200,000 sq ft following considerable growth. The warehousing and logistics operator and specialist 3pl provider, that works for blue-chip clients in the FMCG sector, has increased its capacity to store in excess of 20,000 pallets alongside its reworking operation which consistently delivers over 2000 pallets per week. The new facility now handled nearly 200 vehicle movements per day, operating every hour, seven days per week.
Acting on behalf of AEW, property consultancy AWS, negotiated the surrender of the existing lease and secured a new agreement with ITPL for a ten-year period with a rent review in five years. GMI Construction was contracted to deliver the expansion and surveyors firm Malcolm Hollis was the project manager.
Nick Arundel at AWS said, “Since construction in the 1990’s Wakefield 41 has remained a successful business park due to its fantastic location. Coincidentally AWS brokered the original deal on the building to Panasonic and subsequently Eddie Stobart with expansion capacity and it is satisfying to see the investment made by AEW to secure the longevity of the site since its acquisition.”
Mike Shears at AEW said, “This has been a very successful project for us in that we have been able to work with our tenants to add significant value to our portfolio at the same time as finding a solution to the occupiers operational needs.”
Dave Ellis, Director at ITPL said, “This is an exciting development for ITPL and we would like to thank the teams at AEW and GMI whose professionalism and efficiency allowed us to operate unhindered whilst works took place. I am looking forward to the next phase in our company’s expansion, as a result of this additional 100k square feet we will be creating more than 30 new job roles taking our total workforce to over 70 people, all of whom will contribute to an even greater service to our clients.”
