GMI Construction Group, a fast-expanding building and construction services company has announced that it has started construction of a 103,000 sq ft distribution unit at St. Modwen Park Burton (formerly known as Burton Gateway). The new speculative unit, which is being built for expert developer and regeneration specialist, St. Modwen,
The current rise in speculative development will help replenish an undersupplied UK market, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield. Eight million sq ft of speculative development was underway across 44 buildings over 50,000 sq ft at the end of 2018, while the average void period for spec built space
The team at KAM Project Consultants was recently selected by logistics and industrial development company Baytree to provide construction services for the build of a warehouse, which is being hailed as ‘the most sustainable warehouse in the UK’. KAM, which has company offices in Leicester and Milton Keynes, provided employer’s
The £1.6 million contract to develop the expansion plans for Viking Shipping Services in Yorkshire has been handed over to Britcon, which aims to expand its offerings at the Selby site with a new warehouse and office facility. “After a thorough contract tender process managed by GGP Consult we were pleased to
Fixmart Limited, the UK supplier of construction products, has implemented the PODFather System, in order to improve its customer service, productivity, visibility and client communication. With the help of the System, Fixmart’s customer service team will be able to schedule and monitor time-critical deliveries for clients to sites across London
GMI Construction Group, a fast-expanding building and construction services company has announced that it has started construction of a 103,000 sq ft distribution unit at St. Modwen Park Burton (formerly known as Burton Gateway). The new speculative unit, which is being built for expert developer and regeneration specialist, St. Modwen, will include a 50m deep yard, 10 dock levellers (including 2 euro-docks) and grade A office space. Due to be completed this September, the unit further expands the industrial and logistics offering at the 1 million sq ft site. Once occupied, it could create in excess of 120 jobs in addition to the significant number of construction jobs created during the build. Work begins just a month after St. Modwen announced it had attracted two new tenants to the Park, with Supply Technologies taking a 25,446 sq ft unit and Keylite Roof Windows leasing a 40,730 sq ft unit, both of which were delivered as part of the second phase of development. Speaking about the announcement Martin Watson, Construction Director at GMI Construction, said: “We are delighted to have been awarded our second contract at St. Modwen Park Burton. Our commitment to deliver another quality product on time for St Modwen will be our ultimate focus moving forward.” Also commenting, Steven Smith, Senior Construction Manager at St. Modwen, said: “We are pleased to have instructed GMI Construction Group on this latest phase. GMI is a well-respected construction company and we have great confidence in the team’s ability to deliver this quality unit.” With Rob Richardson, Senior Development Manager at St. Modwen, going on to say “St. Modwen Park Burton has proven to be an incredibly popular site. This further investment is not only testament to our confidence in the Park, but in the wider industrial and logistics market in the Midlands.” Birmingham-based property agents Savills and Knight Frank are marketing the scheme on behalf of St. Modwen. Katie Aitchison, Associate Director at Savills, and Edward Kennerley, Associate at Knight Frank, said: “We are looking forward to unveiling the completed unit in September. The business park has attracted some excellent names and we’re confident that this additional unit will satisfy the demand for well-connected B2 and B8 space, attracting more great businesses and creating a significant number of jobs in the region.” St. Modwen Park Burton is one of the largest warehouse developments in the Midlands and is a key employment hub for East Staffordshire. The site already has more than 200,000 sq ft of space and is home to major names including Hellman Worldwide Logistics, who occupied the first unit in 2016. Strategically located adjacent to the A38, on the southern approach to Burton-upon-Trent, the site offers strong links to the M42 and A50. Nearby occupiers include Pirelli, Unilever, Boots, Holland & Barrett, Argos and Toyota.
The current rise in speculative development will help replenish an undersupplied UK market, according to research from Cushman & Wakefield. Eight million sq ft of speculative development was underway across 44 buildings over 50,000 sq ft at the end of 2018, while the average void period for spec built space fell to nine months in the final quarter of 2018. Cushman & Wakefield estimates that at current take-up rates, vacant newly built space will reach 14 million sq ft by the end of 2019. However, the research said that low vacancies (around 5 per cent), scarcity of land in prime locations and a restrictive planning regime are likely to prevent any over-supply while pent-up demand for Grade A space will continue to fuel rental growth. Simon Lloyd, partner, national logistics & industrial, said: “While there will continue to be demand from occupiers for built to suit solutions, particularly in the manufacturing sector, the availability of speculative buildings is important in this dynamic market sector. The immediacy of a building solution for an occupier means they can focus on the operational aspects of their requirements, and therefore satisfy the demands of their customers. The current supply of new buildings does not represent many months’ take-up, and consequently occupiers will still need to focus on building solutions at an early stage.”
The team at KAM Project Consultants was recently selected by logistics and industrial development company Baytree to provide construction services for the build of a warehouse, which is being hailed as ‘the most sustainable warehouse in the UK’. KAM, which has company offices in Leicester and Milton Keynes, provided employer’s agent and cost manager services for the build of the warehouse in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, which has been praised for a number of environmental and technological advances and is now ready to market to potential occupiers. Using mixed reality technology called Microsoft HoloLens, a first for the UK logistics sector, the warehouse will allow customers of the future occupying business the chance to visualise and interact with the building in a variety of different 3D scales to showcase fitouts within the warehouse and offices. Insulated and airtight, the building is fitted with solar panels and contains air source heat pumps that extract heat from the air outside to power equipment inside. Clear panels in the warehouse ceiling reduce the need for artificial lighting and all existing lighting is LED and environmentally friendly. The building is also fitted with an energy monitoring system complete with smart meters which track energy usage and turn lights and heating off when parts of the building are unoccupied, this can be controlled remotely. The sensors monitor air and water quality, internal noise, lighting, humidity, temperature and patterns of occupancy. Services for future employees range from solar-powered electric car charging points to outdoor gym equipment, and the company has installed walls covered with reindeer moss to improve air quality and absorb noise. The fire track for the building has been designed to have dual use as a running track and there are also allotments and orchards for workers to cultivate and enjoy their own fruit and vegetables grown onsite. Construction works completed on the warehouse at the end of 2018, and the site will eventually comprise two warehouses – one of 267,000 sq. ft and one of approximately 360,000 sq. ft once a pre-let has been secured for the second. Developers say that once the pre-let is secured, completion can be expected for the second in approximately six months. David French, director at KAM Project Consultants said: “We’ve really enjoyed being part of this project to put such a sustainable build on the map. From a business point of view, it’s so important to consider the environmental impact of your work and so much planning went into this build to ensure a sustainable working environment for the occupier, which is key for the future of the logistics sector. “The build consists of many sustainable elements and will provide a fantastic and modern space for a logistics business and its employees – we look forward to seeing more of this type of innovation and sustainable effort in our future projects.” For both the first and second warehouses, Baytree hopes to attract high-quality occupiers who will bring a variety of skilled employment opportunities to the area. A pre-let has yet to be signed for the second building, but there has already been interest from a number of parties. The location of the site close to the M1 is ideal for potential tenants including businesses in the retail, pharmaceutical or manufacturing sectors. Alongside KAM, Savills, Chetwood Architects, Hydrock Consultants, Kelly Taylor Associates and David Lock Associates supported Baytree with the build of the warehouse.
The £1.6 million contract to develop the expansion plans for Viking Shipping Services in Yorkshire has been handed over to Britcon, which aims to expand its offerings at the Selby site with a new warehouse and office facility. “After a thorough contract tender process managed by GGP Consult we were pleased to award Britcon the Viking project and commence the new development at our Selby site. We look forward to working with the Britcon team,” commented Graeme Pickering, Director at Viking Shipping Services. The comprehensive freight forwarding and cargo handling services provider will complete the design and build phases of the 12,000 sq ft warehouse and adjoining 4,500 sq ft offices. “We are pleased to be appointed by Viking Shipping to assist with its exciting growth at Selby. Amongst our expertise is full turnkey solutions where we are able to take care of planning issues, ground and civils works and of course the build programme,” said Matt Harker, Regional Manager at Britcon. “On this particular project two of the original rail lines dating back to the historical landmark are still exposed with two sets of buffers and the local authority has requested that we maintain these as practical in the new build,” he added. Construction has commenced on site and is expected to take 29 weeks to complete. Britcon is one of the UKs most successful and progressive construction and development businesses based in the North of England. Established for nearly 30 years as a family owned business, Britcon has exceptional pedigree with an impressive and diverse client portfolio. The business directly employs over 100 people in its team and maintains an operating turnover of £50 million. Viking Shipping Services Ltd commenced trading in the 1940’s with the specific aim of providing a comprehensive freight forwarding and cargo handling service. Based at Selby just off the M62 in North Yorkshire, Viking Shipping is strategically located to facilitate a range of services for cargo arriving by both road and sea.
Fixmart Limited, the UK supplier of construction products, has implemented the PODFather System, in order to improve its customer service, productivity, visibility and client communication. With the help of the System, Fixmart’s customer service team will be able to schedule and monitor time-critical deliveries for clients to sites across London and the M25 corridor, straight from the company’s extensive warehousing facility in Kent. “Delivering products that are scheduled to arrive at a construction site are often time-critical with tight delivery windows so there are no delays to a particular phase of work. Failure to meet these can result in possible time and cost implications as well as financial penalties. The PODFather system will ensure that we deliver materials to our customers when they need them and also enable us to optimise our route planning to make the most efficient use of the fleet. It is just one of a number of recent initiatives we have undertaken to help our customers save time and money, maintain a competitive advantage and mitigate risk,” said Carl Ghinn, Managing Director of Fixmart Limited. Improved estimated times of arrival will be communicated to customers when the delivery is en-route with traffic information and delays provided in real-time. The system will also enable Fixmart to evaluate mileage, vehicle weight capacity and to create the most optimal delivery runs within the set time-window requirements of their customers. “Effective route planning should sit at the heart of any logistics team to help ensure the best chance of delivering on customer promises. Fixmart has taken PODFather to provide accurate delivery ETAs to their clients and they now know in advance if these are going to hit the required delivery time window. Electronic proof of delivery documents are sent in real-time back to the office and the customer stating the exact time of delivery, who received it, and where it was delivered,” commented Colin McCreadie, Managing Director of PODFather. Fixmart offers construction related products including fixings, containment, pipe support, brackets and ductwork.
