Fast growing retail business, The Range, is opening a major new distribution centre in Yorkshire that is expected to create hundreds of new jobs, after leasing one of the North of England’s largest, vacant distribution warehouses.
Premier Way North offers 546,970 sq ft of space, within a 31-acre site, just off the M62 at Normanton, and was marketed jointly by Leeds property consultancy Gent Visick and JLL.
Global property giant Exeter Property Group acquired the property last year in a £43.5 million off-market deal advised by Gent Visick’s Leeds and London offices. The property was previously occupied by Poundworld.
The Range has signed a 20-year lease on the building, which will complement its existing distribution centres in Thorne and Avonmouth. The company has more than 175 stores nationwide and stocks more than 65,000 products, from homewares to furniture and DIY products to art supplies.
Alex Simpkin, Chief Executive Officer of The Range, said: “As part of our ongoing expansion and new supply chain initiatives we were looking for flexible, additional space. The key attraction of Normanton was its close proximity to our existing Northern distribution centre in Doncaster and of course the nearby motorway network.”
Andrew Gent, a director at Gent Visick, said: “This is a high-quality and very substantial cross-docked, high bay distribution warehouse, in a sought-after location on the M62 which connects the deep-water ports of Liverpool and the Humber. There’s nothing else of this scale and standard that’s ready to move straight into in the North of England, and it’s a huge coup for everyone involved, as well as the local area, that The Range acted so decisively to secure this building.”
Kim Farley, from Exeter Property Group, said: “We’re delighted to secure The Range as a long-term tenant at Premier Way North. This is a clear indication of the strength of the letting market in Yorkshire and agreeing this letting is a testament to Gent Visick’s quality advice and market insight, as well as the overall quality of this investment.”