Are you wild at heart or a serene spirit? Perhaps you have a bit of both, depending on the situation. We all live hectic lives from time to time, but we like all the drama to happen outside of our home. Our own house should be a safe haven where
Goodman will offer design and build opportunities for Andover Business Park’s final 16-acre plot, capable of delivering up to 362,000 sq ft of bespoke industrial and distribution space. Launch of Plot 5 follows sale of final roadside plots, adding to the Park’s excellent on-site amenities Customers will join the Co-operative
The UK has set an ambitious target to become a zero emissions nation by 2050. If it can be achieved, this would make the UK the cleanest country in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. 31 years certainly seems like a long time to achieve this, but is
Barberry Developments is developing a £9.8 million, 72,000 sq ft, speculative warehouse unit at the site of a former DIY store in Northamptonshire. Barberry Developments has started on site at the 3.5-acre site, at Sopwith Way, Daventry. Benniman has been appointed construction contractor and practical completion is expected in May
The recent destruction of a state-of-the-art warehouse highlighted the issue of fire safety within highly automated buildings. The growth of e-commerce is impacting the global economy and will continue to do so as industry 4.0 further develops. Rapid development of delivery hubs to meet consumer needs and the resulting demand
Developer Roxhill has secured approval from the Secretary of State for its 5 million sq ft strategic rail freight terminal in Northamptonshire. The application was granted approval yesterday for the development of a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) together with landscaping, access and other supporting infrastructure works consisting of an
Following unprecedented success, the Offsite Construction Awards will be back in 2020 at a new high-profile location, taking place at the UK’s largest offsite technology event in the construction calendar – Offsite Expo. In line with the sector, the Offsite Construction Awards have experienced exponential growth and next year’s event
With a rapid increase in the population, the construction business is seeing significant advancements. About one-fifth of the new companies are associated with construction, and this industry involves many significant entrepreneurial investments. The construction industry can ensure massive returns if the finances are managed well. In these lines, renting the
Gazeley is proposing to speculatively develop a 746,478 sq ft warehouse at its Magna Park Lutterworth scheme in the East Midlands subject to planning. The huge facility is one of four properties on a speculative scheme totalling 1.3 million sq ft being brought forward by Gazeley following its acquisition of
Doosan Bobcat EMEA today announced the opening of its headquarters for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), marking a further expansion in the Czech Republic. As part of its Dobříš campus, the newly erected building houses the company’s management and other employees and complements the production plant and
Are you wild at heart or a serene spirit? Perhaps you have a bit of both, depending on the situation. We all live hectic lives from time to time, but we like all the drama to happen outside of our home. Our own house should be a safe haven where we can rest our soul and feel true inner peace. Of course, there are many factors that impact our serenity at home, but one of them surely is interior design. By that, we don’t mean you should now redecorate your entire home with expensive furniture from some catalog, but there probably is room for improvement. We’re here to give you some ideas on how to contribute to making these conditions just right. Use your experience It’s sometimes hard to know what exactly is that you need. Instead, you can think of your favorite places and think about what they have in common. If it’s just one place, think about its ambiance and what it is that makes you happy when it comes to the interior. It can be something obvious and large or something completely minor, just a detail. Think long and hard and try to decide which elements relax you in your favorite place. It may be about the dominating color of the room or just a tiny piece of furniture like a lamp or some scented candles. Nevertheless, you should get yourself some of those. Make it cozy Coziness is an essential prerequisite for a peaceful place. This is why comfort comes first when it comes to decorating your personal space. Make sure you change any uncomfortable furniture you have. In order to be able to relax, you need to have comfy couches. Once this condition is fulfilled, you can focus on getting soft pillows in warm colors and patterns. Some small rugs and adequate drapes can fulfill the atmosphere. You can also consider getting a few plush toys if they’re your cup of tea. Moreover, smells cannot be omitted, they’re an important part of the atmosphere which is why you can get some lavender-scented sticks or candles. Green therapy Another calming factor definitely is plants. If you don’t have any greenery, it’s high time you got some. Large flower pots made from natural materials will contribute to the inside of your home. Make sure you have something green and leafy to put in those pots. Research suggests that color green really has a therapeutic effect on people, so there’s no such thing as too much in this case. However, you should consider how demanding maintenance of these plants is and if the conditions inside your house, such as the amount of light and room temperature, suit them. Of course, once you do get them, you need to nurture them and be very gentle and attentive. You won’t regret it as you’ll enjoy the love you get in return. Lighting People often forget about lighting when decorating. However, it’s an extremely important aspect. One can have a perfectly decorated space, but if it’s poorly lit, the whole impression rapidly deteriorates. This is why dimmer switches and lamps are important parts of any room where people spend most of their conscious time. Dimmers will enable you to control the amount of light in different situations, while various lamps will create the dynamics of lighting which is very appealing to the human eye and you can definitely find the right combination that is going to feel soothing. Separate areas People often find that the source of their stress is actually not being able to separate their work life from their private life. Believe it or not, a great deal of these cases occurs due to people working and relaxing in the same room. This is why you should definitely limit all your technology and working area to just one room, while there’s a completely different room designed for relaxation. It will definitely help you separate the two in your mind once they’re physically disjointed. If you only have one room, you can use creative ways to physically separate your desk and the couch by some auxiliary walls or giant plants. All in all, a peaceful environment definitely doesn’t arise overnight. It needs work, both on the content of your home, as well as your own mental efforts. However, once you take care of the aesthetical and practical sides, the mental one will soon follow.
Goodman will offer design and build opportunities for Andover Business Park’s final 16-acre plot, capable of delivering up to 362,000 sq ft of bespoke industrial and distribution space. Launch of Plot 5 follows sale of final roadside plots, adding to the Park’s excellent on-site amenities Customers will join the Co-operative Group and Rich Products in strategic location With a population of 12.7 million people within a two hour drivetime1, Andover Business Park meets the demand for strategically-located industrial and distribution space in reach of both the South East and West of the UK. Alongside the opportunity to access this prime consumer base, which amounts to a combined spending power of £282 billion, customers will benefit from a growing employment pool, with the local population set to increase by 50% by 20312. The Park is already home to the Co-operative Group’s regional distribution centre and global bakery firm Rich Products, which opened a 15-acre site in June 2019 in a move to consolidate its UK production facilities. Goodman has also recently seen the sale of two roadside plots at Andover Business Park, with van leasing company Abacus and 24 hour gym, PureGym, both set to start on site imminently. The latter will add to a suite of amenities – including a Travelodge hotel, Costa drive-thru and Marston’s Inn – helping customers attract and retain their workforces. Charles Crossland, Managing Director, Goodman UK, said “Just two miles from Andover town centre and benefitting from direct access to the A303, the site reflects Goodman’s commitment to providing strategically-located warehouse space and high-quality environments to work – with the park offering not only job opportunities but facilities to match.” Appointed agents at Andover Business Park are JLL, Savills and Myddelton & Major. For more information about business prospects in Andover Business Park and Plot 5, please visit the website for more more details.
The UK has set an ambitious target to become a zero emissions nation by 2050. If it can be achieved, this would make the UK the cleanest country in the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. 31 years certainly seems like a long time to achieve this, but is this goal attainable at all? Currently, the figures are not too pleasing. As of October 2018, the UK had an annual greenhouse emission of around 500 million tonnes of CO2. The government has received advice from the Committee on Climate Change regarding reducing this to zero, after a UN report highlighted the urgent need to cut carbon emissions entirely in order to prevent catastrophic climate change. In an interview with BBC News, the UK’s climate minister Claire Perry said: “The report was a really stark and sober piece of work — a good piece of work. Now we know what the goal is, and we know what some of the levers are. “But for me, the constant question is: what is the cost and who’s going to bear that, both in the UK and in the global economy. The question is: what does government need to do, where can the private sector come in, and what technologies will come through?” VW service provider, Vindis, has investigated the issue in further detail, looking into the actions that need to take place in order for this goal to be achieved. Swapping our vehicle To meet a target to scrap petrol and diesel cars by 2040, the government is already making moves to clean up the air by cleaning up on the roads. While we may be a couple of decades away from seeing this ban come into force, it appears that an increasing number of British motorists are already exploring what’s available when it comes to alternative-fuel or LPG vehicles. There are some drivers that are already making the swap. In fact, Next Green Car has reported that the number of new registrations of plug-in cars jumped from just 3,500 in 2013 to over 195,000 as of the end of January 2019. Furthermore, figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders highlighted that electric car sales across the UK has shifted from only close to 500 being registered each month in the early part of 2014 to an average of 5,000 per month throughout 2018. Because of the growing interest in these vehicles, the UK is also making infrastructural changes. While the UK’s network of electric vehicle charging points was recorded in at just a few hundred units as of 2011, there had been more than 5,800 charging locations, 9,800 charging devices and 16,700 connectors installed by June 2018. We may still be quite a while away from seeing all vehicles on the roads of the UK being run on alternative fuels — the latest vehicle data from the SMMT stated that the car registrations market share for January 2019 was 64.08 per cent petrol, 29.08 per cent diesel and 6.84 per cent alternative-fuel vehicles, for example — but it appears that things are at least moving in the right direction. Making the greener switch It’s fair to say that low-carbon alternatives could be the way forward if we’re to realistically meet our target. It appears the nation is already assisting in this area too. In figures compiled by Imperial College London and reported on by The Guardian, the capacity of renewable energy in the UK surpassed that of fossil fuels for the first time. With the amount of renewable capacity trebling in the same five-year period that fossil fuels decreased by one-third, the capacity of biomass, hydropower, solar and wind power hit 41.9 gigawatts and the capacity of gas, coal and oil-fired power plants recorded in at 41.2 gigawatts between July and September. Imperial College London’s Dr Iain Staffell, who led the research, said: “Britain’s power system is slowly but surely walking away from fossil fuels, and [the quarter between July and September] saw a major milestone on the journey.” We’re already paving the way for change. The UK has set standards such as being powered for three days straight without the use of coal in 2018. This was before a report from Imperial College London which was commissioned by Drax suggested that coal supplied only 1.3 per cent of Britain’s entire use of electricity during the second quarter of 2018 — furnaces based at coal-fired power stations throughout the country were completely unused for 12 days in June last year too. Better insulation Sometimes changes need to be made inside the home too. According to a BBC News article from February 2017, the UK was needing to cut carbon emissions by 80 per cent between the date that the piece was published and 2050. What’s more, a third of those carbon emissions had been recorded from heating draughty buildings across the nation. A negative impact is arising from these badly insulated homes. Experts from the Green Building Council — a group of leading construction firms — stated in a report sent to Parliament that 25 million existing homes will not currently meet the insulation standards being enforced in the mid-century and will need to be refurbished to the highest standards. According to calculations, these findings mean that the rate of refurbishment stood at a rate of 1.4 homes needing to be worked on every minute as of the beginning of 2017. Understandably, this work will help cut carbon emissions, but it can also help with other areas too. The Green Building Council’s head Julie Hirigoyen explains: “People will have warmer homes and lower bills; they will live longer, happier lives; we will be able to address climate change and carbon emissions. “We will also be creating many thousands of jobs and exporting our best skills in innovation.” To meet the 2050 target is a bold ambition. Fortunately, some of the examples covered in this article does at least suggest that efforts are being made to ensure the
Barberry Developments is developing a £9.8 million, 72,000 sq ft, speculative warehouse unit at the site of a former DIY store in Northamptonshire. Barberry Developments has started on site at the 3.5-acre site, at Sopwith Way, Daventry. Benniman has been appointed construction contractor and practical completion is expected in May 2020. Barberry secured the site for an undisclosed sum from New River Retail and achieved planning consent from Daventry District Council earlier this year. Barberry development director Jon Robinson said: “Barberry 72 will be a prominent high quality warehouse/manufacturing unit, in the highly sought-after mid-box range, in what is an excellent location. “We currently have a logistics/industrial pipeline of circa 2.8 million sq ft. All of our warehouses are available on both leasehold terms or as freehold purchases.” Meanwhile, the Richardson Barberry joint venture construction of five mid-box industrial units, totaling 174,500 sq ft, at More+ in Bristol, has reached practical completion. The JV has also been selected as development partner to deliver a £140 million business park – with 1.75 million sq ft of accommodation – at Aycliffe Business Park in County Durham, and recently gained planning consent.
The recent destruction of a state-of-the-art warehouse highlighted the issue of fire safety within highly automated buildings. The growth of e-commerce is impacting the global economy and will continue to do so as industry 4.0 further develops. Rapid development of delivery hubs to meet consumer needs and the resulting demand for prime space has resulted in the need for maximised utilisation of every square foot. Even as distribution centres become regional hubs and move closer to consumers to achieve rapid delivery, they must also have systems for storing, handling and picking to get product out of the door as efficiently as possible. This requires more and more automation, the development of which, will eventually touch every aspect of our lives from autonomous vehicles to advanced storage solutions and robotics. The recent destruction of a state-of-the-art warehouse highlighted the issue of fire safety within highly automated buildings. Whilst an award-winning advanced fire suppression system was in place, it took 200 firefighters and several days of intense fire-fighting efforts to extinguish the blaze. This building was a prototype with over 1100 robots swarming over a 3D frame called the ‘grid’ to locate goods, from tins of baked beans to toilet rolls. Travelling at up to four metres a second, the robots would fulfil a typical consumer order in around five minutes. Whilst the cause is still usunder investigation, early reports suggest that it may have been caused by a malfunctioning robot and the configuration of the high-density rack-ing. This reportedly made accessing and fighting the fire physically challenging. The fire is a red flag indicator that critical life safety and protection systems must keep pace with the development of these highly automated spaces. Sprinkler systems are a highly effective form of fire protection that detect, act and initiate an alarm in response to a fire event. The National Fire Chiefs Council and the National Fire Sprinkler Network worked together to investigate the ‘Efficiency and Effectiveness of Sprinkler Systems’. The findings indicate, that where installed, sprinkler systems operate on 94% of occasions. Furthermore, it is evident that when they do operate, they extinguish or contain the fire on 99% of occasions. There was not a single report of a death in a non-domestic building where sprinklers were recorded as being present and sprinklers could be expected to work. Sprinkler systems have demonstrated their value in protecting life and property in industrial and commercial applications for many years. The importance of fire suppression sprinklers in the new ecommerce world has never been more relevant. Alpine Fire Engineers have been heavily involved supporting the move to these highly automated buildings which is reflected in their impressive year on year growth. Steven Nanda, Alpine’s CEO states, “Alpine continues to be at the forefront of fire suppression design within the distribution, food, manufacturing and pharmaceutical sectors. Using the very latest VR and BIM technology we are leading the way with bespoke solutions designed to deliver optimal performance in the event of an activation. Our collaboration with key designers in the automation world ensures that we are delivering cost effective and operationally efficient systems.” Alpine is an LPC level 4 accredited company which ensures that their clients receive accurate, up to date and invaluable information at whatever stage of the process. The Project Engineering team, who are fully conversant with both LPC BS EN 12845 and FM Global specifications, engage early to support their customers from the initial planning stage right through to interpreting employer’s requirements. They will also comfortably liaise directly with insurers to ensure design standards and specifications are met whilst delivering a cost effective and high-performance solution to mitigate their customers risk In the aforementioned report, ‘Efficiency and Effectiveness of Sprinkler Systems’, it was identified that in the cases where sprinklers system did not operate, there were two main reasons. Firstly, there was a fault in the system which had not been identified/rectified through planned maintenance and secondly, the system was switched off. Accordingly, and as recommended within the LPCB guidelines, it is critically important that the system undergoes a strict regime of planned and preventative maintenance on an ongoing basis by appropriately trained personnel or a certified company. This ensures that the building is adequately safeguarded in the event of a fire hazard, that assets are insured and the system is compliant. Alpine Fire Engineers directly employs a nationwide team of highly trained Service Engineers who will inspect automatic fire suppression systems as part of a planned and preventative maintenance regime, which is vital to ensure deployment and optimal performance when the system is needed Planned maintenance schedules are tailored to the needs of each site ensuring that the requirements of LPCB 1048 guidelines and those of the insurers are met. for more information on Alpine Fire, please visit www.alpinefire.co.uk
Developer Roxhill has secured approval from the Secretary of State for its 5 million sq ft strategic rail freight terminal in Northamptonshire. The application was granted approval yesterday for the development of a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI) together with landscaping, access and other supporting infrastructure works consisting of an intermodal freight terminal including container storage and HGV parking, rail sidings to serve individual warehouses, and with the capability to also provide a ‘rapid rail freight’ facility as part of the intermodal freight terminal. In addition there would be approximately 5 million sq ft warehousing and ancillary buildings, with additional floorspace provided in the form of mezzanines as well as new road infrastructure and works to the existing road network, including the provision of a new access and associated works to the A508, a new bypass to the village of Roade, improvements to Junction 15 and to Junction 15A of the M1 motorway, the A45, and other highway improvements at junctions on the local highway network; The scheme was one of five strategic rail freight interchanges being proposed in the Midlands with a combined associated warehouse development of some 39 million sq ft in addition to the ones already there which include East Midlands Gateway and DIRFT (adding a further 15 million sq ft of associated warehouse space). Goodman has its East Midlands Intermodal Park in South Derbyshire, which would bring 6 million sq ft of associated warehousing across a 630-acre site. Then there is an adjacent 600-acre site to Roxhill’s Northampton gateway SRFI being brought forward by Gazeley teaming up with Ashfield Land to promote Rail Central in Northamptonshire, two miles from Junction 15A of the M1 motorway. The scheme is looking to provide 7.4 million sq ft of associated warehousing space. Far in the north west of the region in South Staffordshire, Four Ashes is championing the 733 acre West Midlands Interchange, with up to 8 million sq ft of associated warehousing. Finally the most recent to be put forward is dbSymmetry’s Hinckley National Rail Freight Interchange in Leicestershire which links in to the Nuneaton to Felixstowe rail freight route. The 560-acre site could accommodate up to 9 million sq ft of associated warehouse space (some of it mezzanine). It is located close to Junction 2 of the M69 motorway connecting the M6 near Coventry and the M1 motorway near Leicester. Like most nationally important infrastructure developments, this one has proved controversial having gone through the planning inspectorate rather than the more usual planning route. Three examining inspectors made up a panel to examine the application, which was conducted on the basis of written and oral submissions submitted to the Panel and by a series of meetings held in Northampton. The Panel also undertook one accompanied and one unaccompanied site inspection. In response to the application the Secretary of State noted there is a ‘compelling need for an expanded network of SRFIs’. And believes that it is ‘for the market to determine the feasibility of particular proposals and notes there will be limited suitable locations for SRFIs’. With regard to the number and proximity of SRFIs in the Midlands the Secretary of State notes: ‘that operational collaboration and linkage between closely related SRFIs does takes place (including between SRFIs geographically closer than DIRFT and the Proposed Development), and notes the Panel’s consideration that a similar relationship between DIRFT and the Proposed Development might also occur. The Secretary of State therefore agrees with the Panel that the proximity of DIRFT does not undermine the Applicant’s justification of need’. In relation to other proposals elsewhere in the region the Secretary of State’s response was that it was not possible to judge an application on any ‘putative proposals’ of a similar nature.
Following unprecedented success, the Offsite Construction Awards will be back in 2020 at a new high-profile location, taking place at the UK’s largest offsite technology event in the construction calendar – Offsite Expo. In line with the sector, the Offsite Construction Awards have experienced exponential growth and next year’s event is set to be the most prominent yet, with the Awards taking centre stage at Offsite Expo on 22 September 2020 at the Ricoh Arena, Coventry. In 2020 Offsite Expo will attract over 5,000 dedicated construction professionals across the two-day exhibition. The Awards will be hosted next year alongside the Offsite Summit, which will attract 500 industry leaders and innovators. This move will give the team behind the Awards room to expand the event, after the high demand for tickets last year saw many people losing out on attending the big night. The 2020 Awards will be keeping the traditions of previous years, featuring an evening drinks reception with plenty of networking opportunities. However, it is not only the venue that is changing, two new categories have been announced. The Offsite Construction Awards are expanding to reflect the wider adoption of innovative technology. These new categories include Building Performance Pioneer Award, which focuses on the importance of energy efficiency post occupation, together with International Offsite Project of the Year Award – opening the 2020 Offsite Awards to international entries! The deadline for submissions is 15 May 2020 with announcement of the finalists being announced on 22 September 2020. Entries into the 2019 Offsite Construction Awards were phenomenal and the profile and coverage gained by all the finalists and winners has helped to propel the sector to another level. This event is the ideal opportunity for construction professionals to maximise industry exposure by demonstrating what separates them from their competitors. So, if you are proud of your exceptional team, project development or product innovation, there are just five questions to answer to grasp the opportunity to take centre stage at the 2020 Offsite Construction Awards. Being shortlisted for the Awards will earn recognition within the offsite community and the wider construction industry – opening doors to securing new business development opportunities. Many of the sponsorship packages have already been snapped up by savvy companies wanting to take advantage of the opportunity to promote their company and maximise industry exposure. The headline sponsors for next year’s event include EOS, Hadley Group, NHBC and BLP insurance – with only one package remaining for a headline position.
With a rapid increase in the population, the construction business is seeing significant advancements. About one-fifth of the new companies are associated with construction, and this industry involves many significant entrepreneurial investments. The construction industry can ensure massive returns if the finances are managed well. In these lines, renting the primary construction instruments is also being chosen as a better option than capital investment. But to create an industrial success, you have to understand the market and avoid the following mistakes while hiring construction instruments for your company. Not demarcating your needs Before you pick out the instrument for your work, you should be completely clear about your requirements from that particular machine. If you need to compact the soil and gravel, you will opt for a wacker plate hire and not for any land mowing machine. This difference should be precisely conveyed in your requirements. Waiting till the last second to book your instrument Ideally, it’s advisable to opt for renting a piece of equipment immediately as you sense the necessity. The selection procedure can go on for a little while, and the availability of that particular instrument can also be checked at a rental company. This process gets more manageable if you have time in hand, for hasty business towards the end might have you in difficulty. Not understanding the cost/benefit of the machinery You have to be a critical analyst before choosing the right machine for your construction business. Make sure to follow the financial aspects clearly so that you know how much profit you will be churning out with the initial investment you make while renting the machine. If you do not understand the leverage, it may so happen that you end up paying more than you earn. This should be avoided by all means. Lack of clarity on the time duration When you are looking for construction equipment for your company, you must also know the time duration for which you will need the machine. You may need it for a few hours, but if you book it for an entire day out of anticipation, you will waste your money in the endeavor. Thus, a fair idea of the time duration can help you make a smart investment. If you are sure that you need the machine on a long-term basis, you can consider getting it on a lease, rather than rent. This will go slightly easier on your pocket. Avoiding the training portions No matter how well-versed you are with the construction business, there may be several machines that follow some of the latest technology that you are not equipped with. Instead of avoiding those machines, start getting trained in their operations as they may prove to be very beneficial for your specific requirements. You should also not reject using some tools owing to your incompetence in using them. If you wish to get done with work at a professional level, you can hire experts to run the equipment in your budget and learn from them, as they work. You have to be ardent to know better and perform better to make it big in this business.
Gazeley is proposing to speculatively develop a 746,478 sq ft warehouse at its Magna Park Lutterworth scheme in the East Midlands subject to planning. The huge facility is one of four properties on a speculative scheme totalling 1.3 million sq ft being brought forward by Gazeley following its acquisition of a 220-acre tranche of land from DB Symmetry, known as Magna Park South. In a planning statement regarding the new mega shed and the intention to raise its external eaves height to 21m, Gazeley said it wished to “proceed as swiftly as possible following a grant of planning permission” on the scheme. A spokesperson for Gazeley said: “Having received outline planning permission for the broader expansion of Magna Park, we can confirm that we have submitted a Reserved Matters application for four new buildings at Magna Park Lutterworth. We have seen strong levels of customer demand for space at Magna Park Lutterworth and this application is a response to that demand. We look forward to working with the Council and other stakeholders in the coming months to bring forward this exciting development.” The new cross-dock mega shed will boast 18m eaves, 100 dock and eight level access doors and will have parking for 557 cars and 150 trailers on a 31-acre site. As usual with Gazeley it will also include a host of sustainability features and will reach BREEAM Excellent. The last time such a large warehouse was built speculatively in the UK was in 2005/6 when HelioSlough, a joint venture between Slough Estates – now SEGRO – and Helios Properties, built the 750,431 sq ft Nimbus warehouse in Thorne, near Doncaster, South Yorkshire. The scheme was forward funded to the tune of £42 million by CBRE Investors and was originally let to DHL/MFI on a ten-year lease at an annual rent of £3.075 million in 2007. The cross dock property has 15m eaves as well as 75 dock and 13 level access doors. Following the collapse of MFI, the property was relet to The Range on a £20 year lease at a rent believed to be around £4 per sq ft with five yearly rent reviews. It was sold to Tritax Big Box REIT for £48.5 million, reflecting a net initial yield of 6.1% on the asset acquisition, assuming 5.8% purchase costs. The new speculative mega shed is being constructed on a 220-acre plot of land bought by Gazeley to the south of Magna Park Lutterworth from Tritax Symmetry. This is allowing Gazeley to create what is considered the largest dedicated logistics park in Europe in one ownership. The combination of all three sites Magna Park, Magna Park North and Symmetry Park – now known as Magna Park South – totals some 1,360 acres and could eventually have 15.8 million sq ft of buildings. DTRE and Burbage Realty are advising.
Doosan Bobcat EMEA today announced the opening of its headquarters for the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), marking a further expansion in the Czech Republic. As part of its Dobříš campus, the newly erected building houses the company’s management and other employees and complements the production plant and the training and innovation center, where Bobcat machines are created for Europe and the rest of the world. Record investment, turnover and increase in production This year alone, the company’s investments in Dobříš will reach EUR 20 million. In 2018, Doosan Bobcat’s revenue for the EMEA region amounted to EUR 765 million, with the Dobříš factory producing a record 17,206 machines. This year, the company plans to increase production by 20% and break through the barrier of 20,000 machines for the first time. Bobcat’s history dates back 60 years and has become synonymous with skid steer loaders in most of the world. It has been operating in the Czech Republic since 2001. A major development came in 2007 with the construction of a new production plant for loaders and mini-excavators and the takeover by the global Doosan Group. In addition to the new production capacities, Doosan Bobcat has also built an extensive training center, and, above all, an innovation center. The development of the entire campus is symbolically crowned by the opening of the company’s EMEA headquarters, which moved from Waterloo, Belgium, to Dobříš, Czech Republic. Worth EUR 10 million, the three-storey headquarters building covers a surface area of 1,561 m2 and will offer more than 3,370 m2 of office space for 200 employees. Investments were also made to create more than 7,000 m2 of green areas around the building. The ample parking facilities include charging stations for electric vehicles. Socio-economic importance for the whole region Gustavo Otero, President of Doosan Bobcat EMEA, comments: “With the opening of the new headquarters in Dobříš, we are completing an investment which – thanks to the concentration of development, production and management of the company in one place – is of socio-economic importance for the whole region and exceptional within our industry. During Doosan Bobcat’s operations in the Czech Republic, we have invested approximately EUR 120 million, increased production five-fold, and more than tripled the number of employees. In the future, we expect a further recruitment of blue-collar professionals and expert positions in development.” Doosan Bobcat in numbers: A world leader in the manufacture of compact construction machines and a major manufacturer of agricultural machinery 17,206 machines produced in the Dobříš factory in 2018 (20% increase in 2019) EMEA revenue of EUR 765 million in 2018 A total investment of EUR 120 million for Doosan Bobcat Dobříš since 2007 1,400 jobs on the Dobříš campus, 150 in development and 200 in management Around 5,000 dealers and customers trained every year by the ‘Bobcat Institute’ training center Major employer With more than 1,400 employees from 30 different countries, Doosan Bobcat EMEA is one of the largest employers in the region. The company employs a number of blue-collar professionals: assembly workers, welders, and warehouse workers. With its innovation center and company management based in Dobříš, it also employs a number of highly specialized professionals, from development engineers to product managers and company management: 150 of them are located in the Innovation Center, and another 200 work in the new headquarters. “Doosan Bobcat’s investment shows that the Czech Republic has a lot to offer to foreign companies – a skilled workforce, a stable business environment, and a location in the heart of Europe are ideal preconditions for high-value-added investments linked to research and development. The emphasis on innovation, product development and regional management is a great example of our competitiveness.” Karel Havlíček, Czech Minister of Industry and Trade. World leader in track loaders Doosan Bobcat EMEA produces about half of the global production of Bobcat machines. These include compact construction and agricultural machinery such as skid steer loaders and track loaders (of which Bobcat is a global leader), and mini-excavators such as the E10e, the world’s first 1-tonne electric excavator. The company also manufactures telescopic handlers and loaders, compressors and generators, and more than a hundred attachments. Bobcat as part of the Doosan Group The Doosan Group was founded in 1896 in Korea. Its activities range from manufacturing turbines for power plants to desalination plants to engines for giant ocean liners. Since 2007, the Bobcat brand has been part of the Doosan Group, specifically Doosan Bobcat EMEA. In addition to compact Bobcat machines, Doosan also offers heavy construction, mining and agricultural machinery under the Doosan Infracore brand. For more information about Bobcat and its products, visit: www.bobcat.com Information about the Doosan Group can be found at: https://www.doosan.com/en