CLOWES DELIGHT AT CO-OP DEPOT DEAL

Industrial/Warehouse News

DERBYSHIRE-based Clowes Developments has chalked up another big success with a major retailer, cementing its position as a national player in the market for industrial distribution space.

It is in the process of tying up the final details of a deal which will see retail giant The Co-operative Group build a 480,000 sq ft food distribution facility at the Castlewood Business Park site near Junction 28.

The Co-op deal comes in the wake of a decision by fellow High Street major Marks & Spencer to take an even bigger space at the East Midlands Distribution Centre at Castle Donington.

Together, the two deals will satisfy major strategic requirements for national retail businesses while providing employment for hundreds of people.

The deals have underlined the emergence of Clowes as a major player, establishing it as the largest developer of prime industrial distribution space in the country this year.

A planning application is shortly to be submitted for the new facility, and the move looks likely to spark renewed activity at the Castlewood site.

Plans to develop employment space near the site stretch back years, having first been mooted around the time that the McCarthur Glen retail outlet was established.

Land issues meant that the idea did not proceed, but Wilson Bowden Developments brought forward new proposals after a neighbouring site with access from the A38 became available.

It developed road links, site infrastructure and two speculative buildings on the site, but the market collapse in the wake of the credit crunch saw the development stall.

Castlewood was part of a major portfolio of land and property assets bought from Wilson Bowden Developments by Clowes Developments back in 2009 for in excess of £50m, a move which gave privately-owned Clowes a major development opportunity and raised its profile considerably.

James Richards, of Clowes Developments, said: “We are a long-established, highly-professional and very carefully run company which has substantial experience of successful commercial development. That approach has served us well over a long period in a market which has always been cyclical.

“That same measured approach is the reason why we chose to take advantage of the opportunities presented by a portfolio which included such strategically important assets such as the East Midlands Distribution Centre and Castlewood Business Park.

“The deals which we have done with Marks & Spencer and now The Co-operative Group demonstrate that these sites have major potential in the industrial distribution market which is looking for strategic locations capable of serving the East Midlands and beyond.

“We are delighted by the prospect of welcoming The Co-operative Group to Castlewood and we look forward to working with them closely in the coming months.”

John Proctor, industrial partner with the Nottingham surveyors FHP, represented Clowes Developments in the Co-op deal.

He said: “The Co-operative Group has been restructuring its distribution network across the UK, and the decision to build a new food distribution depot at Castlewood is part of a strategy that has seen them commit to similar developments in Andover, Avonmouth and Scotland.

“They shortlisted a number of sites in the East Midlands, but there were two key factors which worked in Castlewood’s favour. One is that it is only a short distance from the existing facilities at Bulwell and Alfreton, which enables them to transfer their existing workforce.

“The other is that Castlewood is a site which is ready to go, and they know that in Clowes they are partnering with a developer which has a well-established reputation for professionalism and commitment.

“Bringing an occupier as high-profile as The Co-operative Group on to the site is bound to add momentum to a location which is very well-placed to take advantage of an improving market, and we are already in advanced discussions about the two existing buildings on the site.”