Amazon is close to securing a deal for its next major UK distribution hub.
The online retail giant is under offer for a 1.1m sq ft logistics hub at Verdion’s iPort development in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
The 337-acre iPort site has outline consent for 6m sq ft of logistics space, of which 3m sq ft was recently granted detailed planning permission.
Amazon is looking to take a 15-year lease on one of the warehouses with detailed consent. Quoting rents at iPort are close to £4.50 per sq ft.
This deal is the latest in a string of lettings and prelets agreed by the Seattle-based e-tailer as it continues with its UK expansion plans.
Amazon accounted for 26% of industrial take-up in the final quarter of last year, giving it a total of 12 UK distribution hubs.
Recent additions include a 654,000 sq ft hub at Manchester Airports Group’s Airport City and a 1.3m sq ft distribution centre at John Cutt’s Mountpark Logistics’ scheme in Bardon, Leicestershire.
The Bardon scheme was sold last month in the largest single-asset logistics transaction in the UK. It was bought by BNP Paribas REIM on behalf of a Korean investor for £120m – a 4.75% yield.
It is likely that other Amazon logistics hubs will be sold as investment opportunities once lease terms have been agreed. The iPort hub will have an end value close to £105m.
CBRE is Amazon’s retained UK property adviser.
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