Kier Construction will be continuing to grow its industrial portfolio with the latest appointment to deliver a £39 million regional distribution hub facility in Wixams, Bedford, for developers UK Land and Property. The facility will be occupied by B&M Retail Ltd and will serve as its Southern Distribution Centre.

The equivalent to 12 premier league football pitches, the 21.5 m high, 1 million sq ft warehouse will help meet market demand. The Distribution Centre consists of warehousing and distribution facilities including temperature controlled zones to accommodate chilled and frozen goods, offices, recycling and ancillary areas. There will also be other provisions, including a refuelling area, a maintenance area for vehicles and a gatehouse, surrounding the main building.

“First class warehouse space is in real demand and working with UK Land and Property LLP, we are looking forward to delivering this space in a perfectly situated location for deliveries across the country. As the UK is the eighth largest manufacturer in the world, we are proud to be supporting UK businesses and their growth and also help secure thousands of job opportunities in the area,” said Mark Pausey, managing director of Kier Construction Central.

“It is an exciting award for Kier and not only is the size of the warehouse going to be impressive, but it also includes 200,000m3 of earthworks and will see us use 4,500 tonnes of steel throughout the build. The finished distribution hub will create around a thousand new jobs and we’ll also be supporting employment growth in the local area throughout the build,” he continued.

The news on the Distribution Centre follows on the announcement that Kier will be building a major extension to the Telford-based Müller factory. The £10 million project will see Kier double the size of the existing site and enable Müller to significantly increase its yoghurt production.