Prologis' signing of major UK supermarket Marks & Spencer to a 1.3 million-square-foot national distribution centre has been named Lease of the Year for East Midlands by a panel of independent judges naming Impact Award winners.
The built-to-suit deal at Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal, known as DIRFT, was one of the largest in the UK big-box market last year and reflected a landmark £340 million investment in modernising M&S’s food supply chain, with the national market seeing a number of food retailers upgrading.
With the aim of doubling the size of its food business, M&S' warehouse will be a critical enabler for this expansion, supporting substantial volumes of new product lines and wider multi‑channel fulfilment, those on the project said.
The site is expected to create 1,000 permanent jobs once operational and 2,000 jobs during the construction phase, acting as a major catalyst for local employment and supply‑chain activity.
M&S' facility will provide chilled storage, automated fulfilment, recycling and returns processing and multi‑floor office accommodation under one roof. The company will also become the first supermarket at DIRFT, diversifying the tenant line-up at the scheme.
About the project: Judges praised the letting for a number of reasons, including its role in helping to drive new standards for design, sustainability and supply‑chain technology in UK industrial and logistics.
The building is designed to achieve BREEAM 'Outstanding' and will become the most sustainable facility in the retailer's supply chain. The campus will also be fully electric, enabling low‑carbon operations with reduced long‑term energy consumption.
Plans show that M&S will develop one of the most sophisticated automated food logistics centres in the country at DIRFT, partnering with automation specialist TGW Logistics. The partners say the technology will "enhance operational efficiency, support real‑time availability, optimise product flow, and future‑proof the warehouse for volume growth".
The real estate expert judges also acknowledged Prologis' work to secure planning for a circa 1.3 million-square-foot structure, which required careful planning coordination, including reserved matters applications and confirmation that an Environmental Impact Assessment was not required.
What the judges said: Nick Hosking, director, agency an development, Innes England, said: "This is the best example I've seen of the future of UK Logistics, both in terms of innovation and sustainability. This project sets the standard."
They made it happen: James Polson, national head of industrial and logistics, Lambert Smith Hampton, tenant rep; Dudley Cross, national head of building consultancy, Lambert Smith Hampton, building consultancy; Oliver Westwell, senior surveyor, Lambert Smith Hampton, tenant rep; Alex Carr, executive director, head of industrial investment, Lambert Smith Hampton, tenant rep; Ranjit Gill, director, Savills, landlord rep; Toby Green, national head, industrial, Savills, landlord rep; Katie Monks, associate director, Savills, landlord rep; John Madocks Wright, associate director, Savills, landlord rep; Will Arnold, associate partner, JLL, landlord rep and Tom Price, associate, capital deployment and leasing, Prologis, owner/developer.
