Judges said M&G Real Estate's 387,500-square-foot Northampton warehouse letting to Danish transport and logistics group DSV is evidence of a growing "near-shoring" activity among international tenants as they crowned it the deal CoStar Impact Awards' Lease of the Year for East Midlands.
The deal at Brackmills Gateway saw the global freight and logistics operator continue its UK expansion by taking the purpose-built BG-387 distribution hub in the UK's Golden Triangle district, a hotspot for industrial warehouses due to its transport links.
A number of international businesses are rethinking where they lease or own warehouses after COVID-19, the Suez Canal crisis and the invasion of Ukraine caused supply chains to be severely affected. This is particularly present among food, automotive and pharmaceutical businesses.
DSV opened its Northampton hub at the end of last year, saying the warehouse would allow it to "minimise transport costs and serve the entire UK at speed." It becomes one of the largest in DSV’s Midlands portfolio.
About the Project: The 380,000-square-foot warehouse also has two-storey operational hub offices and a two-storey office building housing support staff and conference facilities.
The site has 36 dock-level bay doors, and two ground level unloading bays, in addition to a gym, 6,049-square-foot photovoltaic system and 66 electric car chargers.
It also has strong environmental credentials. For example, the facility has rainwater harvesting which is used to flush toilets, sustainable drainage systems and LED lighting supported by motion sensors.
Brackmills Gateway sits near key road networks including the A14 and Junction 15 of the M1 motorway.
They Made It Happen: Charles Spicer, former director at Savills, and Richard Sullivan, board director at Savills.