DELIVERABILITY: oven-ready opportunities
Invited guests at the PLP ‘one year on’ event at MIPIM 2015 heard how ‘deliverability’ is a vital element of the PLP offer.
Pulling together the combined strength of the strategic alliance partners – the Peel Group, Peel Ports and Harworth Estates – PLP has, since launch, acquired new landholdings on a regular basis, been at the forefront of transformational infrastructure projects and led speculative development at key sites across the north of the country.
PLP’s Matthew Fitton, Peel Ports’ Andy Martin and Harworth Estates’ Iain Thomson reflected on progress across the PLP portfolio since it was launched back at MIPIM 2014:
PLP – deliverability in practice
- We have secured a further deal at Logistics North: MBDA, a local defence manufacturer, has bought 8 acres to build its North West HQ, joining Aldi at the site.
- Since MIPIM last year, we’ve completed three new units at the AMP @ Waverley, Harworth Estate’s flagship site in Rotherham. Immediately before this event last year, we announced that we were constructing three new units to meet the burgeoning requirement for space. We’ve already sold all three units – totalling 65,000 sq. ft – and proving to the wider property and investment market that speculative development is alive and kicking in Yorkshire.
- Work is beginning in April 2015 on a brand new commercial development just off Junction 36 of the M1 that will bring 150,000 sq. ft of B1 and B8 space to the market.
- Subject to planning, we are contracted to build the first unit at Port Salford for one of the UK’s largest logistics customers. They will import containerised goods via deep sea Liverpool before being transhipped via the Manchester Ship Canal to Port Salford. Once there, goods will be collated and then distributed. This will generate approximately 280 new jobs for the area.
- Again subject to planning, we are contracted to deliver a new oil re-refinery at QEII Dock which is adjacent to the entrance of the Manchester Ship Canal. This will be a £50m + investment by our customer into the site and will see over 50 new jobs created.
- At a cost over £15m, Peel Ports is constructing over 375,000 sq ft of new warehouses within the Port of Liverpool to accommodate customer requirements for more space.
Looking to the future
“Only next week we go to planning committee for a 280,000 sq ft pre-let at Port Salford”, said Matthew Fitton. “We are seeing speculative development at the AMP site in Yorkshire, at Hareshill in North Manchester and we have further plans for speculative development in the region which we hope to announce over the coming months.
“The pipeline looks good and I do believe in 12 months we will be reporting on a significant amount of development continuing to come out of the ground across the PLP portfolio, creating jobs and construction activity across all the landholdings.”
Iain Thomson added: “The North West remains the best property market in the UK outside London and we are in advanced negotiations with two other companies wanting to take space at Logistics North – proving that demand is out there.”
Meanwhile, Andy Martin explained how Peel Ports is close to finalising several other projects for import terminals, where we will see considerable investment by both Peel Ports and their customers in new facilities.