A groundbreaking ceremony has officially marked the start of construction of Sonar Portsmouth. Built in the heart of Hilsea, the 4.5-acre industrial site, will host seven units ranging from 5,479 to 35,220 sq ft, all of which will all target BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings. The buildings will offer
Wrenbridge and Fiera Real Estate (“Fiera”) are pleased to announce the off-market acquisition of 14.8-acres in Heathrow, West London from Stonegate Homes. The business plan is to speculatively develop a Grade A urban logistics development with a GDV of c.£60m. This represents the fourth acquisition for the Fiera Real Estate
Scheme extends to a total development (GEA) of 302,844 sq ft across six highly sustainable new industrial warehouse buildings. Glencar, a leading UK construction company that was recently ranked amongst Europe’s fastest growing businesses, has just announced that it has been appointed by leading property development company Wrenbridge and specialist
Railpen and Wrenbridge have signed a major new occupier, Leathams Ltd, a food supplier and distributor, at Dartford X. Leathams Ltd have taken a pre-let of 30,000 sq ft at the site. Dartford X covers nine-acres and was acquired by Railpen in December 2019. Railpen’s development partner Wrenbridge have delivered
RPMI Railpen (Railpen), the investment manager for the £30bn railways pension schemes, and Wrenbridge have achieved planning consent for a 185,000 sq ft warehouse development in Dartford, set to create approximately 500 new jobs. The 9-acre site, which was acquired by Railpen in February 2020, will comprise five Grade A
LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General), on behalf of its Managed Property Fund, and development partner Wrenbridge, announce that they have secured planning permission to transform a 107,000 sq ft industrial development at Gateway Cambridge in Bar Hill. This latest planning permission is in line with the fund’s strategy to
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
A groundbreaking ceremony has officially marked the start of construction of Sonar Portsmouth. Built in the heart of Hilsea, the 4.5-acre industrial site, will host seven units ranging from 5,479 to 35,220 sq ft, all of which will all target BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings. The buildings will offer market leading sustainability credentials such as CO2 efficiency, heating and cooling systems, water saving points and fittings, as well as PV panels and EV charging points, giving substantial reductions in energy consumption and associated costs to occupiers. Sonar, funded by Fiera Real Estate and developed by Wrenbridge, is located between Limberline Road and Norway Road, adjacent to Hilsea Rail Station and moments from the M27, making it one of the best-connected sites in Portsmouth. The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by representatives from Wrenbridge, Fiera Real Estate, CBRE, Vail Williams, and Magrock, the site contractor. Construction is now underway, with units ready to occupy from late summer 2024. The industrial and logistics buildings are designed to suit a range of storage, distribution and manufacturing uses, and benefit from up to 12m clear internal height, 50kN / sq m floor loading and level access loading doors. Oliver Sherriff, Associate Director at CBRE Southampton, said: “The groundbreaking ceremony marks a significant milestone in developing this sought-after site. Availability of industrial space across the South Coast although increasing, remains limited, particularly for quality space. With sustainability high on the agenda, the new units at Sonar Portsmouth will offer one of the most sustainable options in the region.” Will Jarman, Associate Director at Wrenbridge and Development Manager for Sonar, commented: “We are looking forward to bringing our high-quality product to the South Coast and deliver much needed brand new space to this brilliant location. Sonar offers a great range of units to create a thriving destination for businesses to relocate to and upgrade operations.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wrenbridge and Fiera Real Estate (“Fiera”) are pleased to announce the off-market acquisition of 14.8-acres in Heathrow, West London from Stonegate Homes. The business plan is to speculatively develop a Grade A urban logistics development with a GDV of c.£60m. This represents the fourth acquisition for the Fiera Real Estate Logistics Development Fund UK (“FRELD”) which has a further c.£200m to deploy into similar logistics sites across the UK. The business plan is to obtain planning and speculatively build 110,570 sqft logistics scheme comprising 3 units ranging from 22,131 sq.ft to 58,127 sq.ft. The units will have 12m eaves, dock and level access doors, 50kn floor loading, and 10-15% office content. As with all assets in Fiera’s logistics Fund’s portfolio, the scheme will be targeting an ESG exemplar specification to include EPCA+, Net Zero Carbon construction and BREEAM Excellent rating. The site is situated on Staines Road, a prime location in West London and benefits from excellent access to the M4, M3 and M25, 1.5 miles from Heathrow Airport and first-rate rail links. Approximately 2.1million people live within a 45-minute drive and the local population of Hounslow has grown by 13.5% in the last 10 years. There is robust demand for the proposed unit sizes and hugely constrained supply as a function of land availability and greenbelt designations in the local area. Jeff Wilson, Director of Wrenbridge, commented “We are excited to announce our latest prime logistics acquisition and push ahead with delivering a highly sustainable scheme with Fiera, which is designed to push the bar and create best in class space for a range of occupiers.” Chris Button, Fund Manager of Fiera Real Estate, commented “We are delighted to be delivering much needed, sustainable high-quality urban warehousing to local area. The scheme will make a strong contribution to the local economy boosting local jobs. We are keen for more high calibre sites for the portfolio to satisfy the capital we have to deploy.” Wrenbridge and Fiera were advised by Regency Real Estate and Avison Young. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Scheme extends to a total development (GEA) of 302,844 sq ft across six highly sustainable new industrial warehouse buildings. Glencar, a leading UK construction company that was recently ranked amongst Europe’s fastest growing businesses, has just announced that it has been appointed by leading property development company Wrenbridge and specialist sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management, to build a new six-unit industrial warehouse development totalling 302,844 sq ft at a strategic development site in Aylesford, Kent, named Click Aylesford. The works will see construction of six highly sustainable new industrial warehouse buildings, completed in shell form with finished open plan offices at first floor, resulting in total development GEA of 302,844 sq ft. The project is adjacent to the M20 motorway and a Network Rail line and includes Section 278 works. Construction of the development is due to start in July and is expected to take 52 weeks, with the expected PC by the end of August 2024. Commenting on the announcement, Greg Wright Glencar Operations director said: “Repeat business is the best business, and we are very pleased to once again be working in partnership with our long standing and much valued customer Wrenbridge, and its partner, Bridges Fund Management, to deliver this fantastic new industrial development at Little Preston in Aylesford. We are also currently on site with Wrenbridge and Bridges Fund Management at Lily House, Basingstoke, and we have previously delivered a five-unit industrial scheme for Wrenbridge – The Bridge in Dartford, which once again demonstrates the strength of our partnership and supply chain. We look forward to working with the team onsite including KAM, Chetwoods, and Sweco and delivering a great new facility for this important customer.” Also commenting Alistair Dunsdon of Wrenbridge, said: “We are very excited to kick start the delivery phase of this major scheme alongside our funding partner Bridges Fund Management and construction partner Glencar. The scheme which is ideally situated in a strategic location off the M20 will provide high quality buildings and achieve market leading sustainability credentials. We look forward to starting on site in the next few weeks and having these units available for local, regional and national businesses by the summer of 2024. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Railpen and Wrenbridge have signed a major new occupier, Leathams Ltd, a food supplier and distributor, at Dartford X. Leathams Ltd have taken a pre-let of 30,000 sq ft at the site. Dartford X covers nine-acres and was acquired by Railpen in December 2019. Railpen’s development partner Wrenbridge have delivered five new Grade A warehouse units ranging in size from 13,000 sq ft to 75,000 sq ft. The warehouses all have excellent sustainability credentials, with Dartford X achieving a BREEAM Excellent rating. All buildings are highly insulated, have PV panels on the roof, and contain water-saving features and energy-efficient lifts. There are also electric vehicle charging points across the site (20 per cent active and 80 per cent passive). Alastair Dawson, Senior Asset Manager at Railpen, says: “We are delighted Leathams have taken space at Dartford X. Leathams choosing Dartford X shows the park can accommodate major companies wanting to operate from high-specification buildings with excellent access to Central London and the M25 at an affordable price. The industrial and logistics sector form a key part of Railpen’s portfolio at a time when the sector is hugely important to the UK’s economic recovery.” Martin Sandler, Real Estate Director at Leathams, says: “Dartford X is a brilliant location for Leathams. Its proximity to major motorways and transport infrastructure giving us access to Folkstone/Felixstowe for our inbound goods as well as our outbound distribution to London and National, are a key part of its appeal. Dartford X’s green credentials, the ceiling heights, large yard and generous power supply are important too, particularly as we plan to install a new chilled box as part of our fit-out. The outlook over plentiful green spaces and lakes will also be great for our Colleagues from a wellbeing perspective. We look forward to occupying the space and a long-term relationship with Railpen.” Harry Gibson, Associate Director at Wrenbridge, says: “The transaction with Leathams Ltd highlights the demand for high specification accommodation in key locations such as Dartford. We have enjoyed working closely with Leathams, and we look forward to growing the relationship further throughout their fit-out and seeing how they utilise the building’s specification and sustainability measures.” Dartford X is owned and managed by Railpen, the investment manager for the GBP35 billion Railways Pension Schemes and developed in partnership with Wrenbridge. CBRE, Cushmans and Glenny represented Railpen.
RPMI Railpen (Railpen), the investment manager for the £30bn railways pension schemes, and Wrenbridge have achieved planning consent for a 185,000 sq ft warehouse development in Dartford, set to create approximately 500 new jobs. The 9-acre site, which was acquired by Railpen in February 2020, will comprise five Grade A warehouse units ranging in size from 13,000 sq ft to 73,000 sq ft. Work on the new development is scheduled to start in October, and due for completion in June 2021. The new development will form part of The Bridge, a 1.8m sq ft mixed-use development which currently provides commercial accommodation for occupiers such as Mercedes, DHL, Sainsbury’s and Network Rail. The site is easily accessible from Central London and other areas of Kent via major motorway and railway links, and benefits from close proximity to Junction 1A of the M25 corridor and City Airport. The new buildings will also have excellent sustainability credentials, with Railpen and Wrenbridge targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating and Planet Mark Certification. Alastair Dawson, Senior Asset Manager at Railpen, commented: “Despite the challenges presented by the current Covid-19 crisis, we are pleased to be able to efficiently move forward with this major project. Achieving consent for Dartford is a great step in expanding Railpen’s industrial portfolio, and the subsequent creation of jobs reflects the keen focus on social aspects of our investment strategy.” Jeff Wilson, Director at Wrenbridge, added: “Securing planning consent in such a short period of time is testament to our innovative and highly sustainable development plans. The scheme, and those working within it, will benefit from a range of high quality environmentally advanced technologies all within a landscaped setting with amenity on the doorstep.” The newly approved Dartford development joins a wide range of real estate assets owned and managed by RPMI Railpen, including a new scheme of six high specification warehouse units in Waltham Cross, also in partnership with Wrenbridge, which is due to complete in March 2021. CBRE, Cushmam & Wakefield and Glenny have been appointed as the leasing agents for the new development.
LGIM Real Assets (Legal & General), on behalf of its Managed Property Fund, and development partner Wrenbridge, announce that they have secured planning permission to transform a 107,000 sq ft industrial development at Gateway Cambridge in Bar Hill. This latest planning permission is in line with the fund’s strategy to evolve its asset holdings and deploy capital into key growth areas, such as the industrial sector, which have retained strong fundamentals. Despite the economic downturn, the fund has continued to drive forward this mandate and recently also announced the acquisition of a significant urban logistics scheme in Basildon for £23.2 million. Once complete, Gateway Cambridge will comprise eight Grade A units, ranging in size from 3,046 sq ft to 45,694 sq ft. Bar Hill is strategically located on the newly improved A14 with excellent connectivity to Cambridge and the M11. The area represents a popular location for industrial occupiers, with excellent amenity on the doorstep and a large workforce available. In line with Legal & General’s wider ESG commitments, Bar Hill has been designed from its inception to be a best in class, environmentally sustainable industrial development which focuses on staff wellbeing. As redevelopment gets underway, Legal & General will look to further bolster the ESG credentials of the new Gateway Cambridge scheme. Rob Codling, Senior Fund Manager, Managed Property Fund said:“Gateway Cambridge, Bar Hill was acquired by the Managed Property Fund in 2006 and is now well placed for modernisation. In line with its strategy, the fund is continuing to maximise holdings where we can be confident that location, occupier demand and sector fundamentals will sustain resilient income streams for the long term. At Bar Hill, we look forward to delivering a high-quality, sustainable development which can provide both economic value and employment opportunities to the local area.” James Feltham, Director at Wrenbridge, added:“The industrial sector continues to thrive, with demand for quality new space outstripping supply. Gateway Cambridge will deliver new units in a size range to cater for a range of occupiers and our focus is to provide a new sustainable development in an environment that will help companies attract and retain staff.” Bidwells and Savills are appointed as the leasing agents for the new development.
