John Lewis has confirmed it is to open a major new distribution centre in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, as revealed by Estates Gazette.
The retailer has signed a 25-year lease at £5.50 per sq ft on the 638,000 sq ft warehouse. It will support its existing distribution centre at Magna Park, which opened in 2009, and the adjacent Magna Park 2, which will be fully operational in 2016.
John Lewis already occupies 1.3m sq ft in two facilities, MP1 and MP2, at Magna Park, while subsidiary Waitrose occupies 938,449 sq ft.
JLL sold all three for record yields.
Burbage Realty, Savills and JLL acted for Gazeley; Cushman & Wakefield advised John Lewis.
The new distribution centre will be responsible for large furniture and electricals and home furnishings, while Magna Park 1 and 2 will be responsible for handling smaller products.
Distribution Partners located at four of John Lewis’s existing sites today received the proposal to relocate to either the new distribution centre or to another of the retailer’s operations in Milton Keynes.
John Lewis operations director Dino Rocos said: “As customers’ shopping habits evolve, so too does our operational business model. The new distribution centre will enable us to better respond, react and fulfil omni-channel shopping experiences be it via phone, tablet, desktop or visiting a shop.
“For the supply chain, this means improving availability. Our new Milton Keynes distribution centre will complement our two Magna Park sites and provide us with the space to continue to build on the improvements we have made in providing better service to our shops and customers.
“We recognise the high level of talent and valuable experience that currently exists with our partners across the sites that we propose to relocate and every partner will be guaranteed a new role at our new distribution centre.”
