Prologis UK, a leading logistics property company, has announced it will speculatively develop two new logistics centres at Prologis RFI DIRFT in Northamptonshire – a park recognised as the most successful intermodal road-rail hub in the UK.

Designed to best-in-class sustainability standards, both buildings – DC327, with a floorspace of 327,044 sq. ft.  and DC628, with a floorspace of 627,707 sq. ft. – will be net zero in construction. They are also  targeting a BREEAM “Excellent” accreditation, an achievement less than 1 percent of  new non-domestic buildings in the UK manage to achieve. In operation, both units will achieve an EPC A rating, including solar PV array installation which can flex to meet customers’ energy needs.

Due to complete in summer 2023, the construction of these new logistics centres follows the development of a third rail terminal, linking to the existing DIRFT infrastructure and the West Coast Mainline railway. The site enjoys close proximity to the M1 and M6 motorways and to the A14 and A5 trunk roads.

“This building is the exciting next step in our speculative development programme,” said Sally Duggleby, Vice President of Capital Deployment and Leasing, Prologis UK. “Our customers rely on us to provide modern, high-quality facilities in prime locations, and we work hard to anticipate their requirements.”

The popularity of rail freight as part of a balanced, sustainable and resilient supply chain has grown over the past decade and today, over 6,500 trains – the equivalent of 200,000 freight containers – pass through the park each year. DIRFT is already home to household brands, such as Sainsbury’s and Tesco, and  Prologis UK has recently built a new landmark facility for Royal Mail site, which serves as the company’s largest parcel hub in the UK.