Swedish furniture giant Ikea is planning to develop the UKs largest individual distribution warehouse at Hampton new town, near Peterborough.
A planning application is expected to be made within weeks for a £40m, 92,900 sq m (1m sq ft) building which will be Ikeas central distribution hub for the country.
Ikea currently has a 54,000 sq m (600,000 sq ft) shed at the A1/M1 scheme at Thrapston, Northamptonshire, and a 10,000 sq m (108,000 sq ft) short-term operation at Bakewell Road, Orton near Peterborough.
Another site was bought from Yorkshire Forward in Westmoor Park, Armthrope, near Doncaster last year, for a distribution centre, the first phase of which will comprise 62,750 sq m (675,500 sq ft).
A spokesman for Ikea said: “There are proposals in place for Hampton because Peterborough is an ideal location for a new distribution centre. We are looking to set up a strategy of four distribution sites of over 46,450 sq m (500,000 sq ft) across the UK within 18 months.”
Ikea is also looking for another base to tie in with its £800m expansion plans. It hopes to triple its number of British outlets to 30 by 2010. Future stores will be located at sites from Glasgow to Southampton. Existing stores include Brent Park, Bristol, Croydon, Edinburgh, Gateshead, Leeds, Nottingham, Thurrock, Warrington and Wednesbury.
Ikea was also considering a move to the Alconbury airfield site, near Cambridge, which is owned by ProLogis.
Hampton, the former quarry bought by the O&H Group from Hanson in 1998, is the largest privately funded development of its kind in Europe and will comprise 5,200 homes, 4ha (10 acres) of business use and 20ha (50 acres) of leisure space by 2010.
The Hampton project is anchored by the 26,012 sq m (280,000 sq ft) Serpentine Green shopping centre, including the UKs second largest Tesco store.
EGi News 30/03/01
