LXB Retail Properties has exchanged contracts to buy the site of leading motorsport and automotive technology businesses Prodrive in Banbury, Oxfordshire.
The retail investor has agreed to pay £17m for the 12-acre site, subject to planning consent for a retail redevelopment being secured.
LXB said that the deal would allow Prodrive to move to a much larger site in Banbury – the former Hella manufacturing facility, which LXB bought for £8.3m. Prodrive has agreed to acquire the site from the investor.
Prodrive wants to expand its business over the next three years, but has run out of space at its current site by the M40 on the Wildmere Industrial Estate. The Hella site is almost twice the size of the company’s current headquarters.
David Richards, chairman of Prodrive, said: “We have totally outgrown our current site and this is severely hindering our ability to grow. We already have 450 staff in Banbury and we will be recruiting another 100 employees within our UK operations over the next 12 months. By 2014, I could easily see our workforce in Banbury approaching 700.
“The Hella factory is currently an empty shell and will take a significant amount of investment to bring it up to Prodrive’s requirements. In order to finance this new investment, Prodrive will be seeking planning permission for a retail scheme at its existing site. Due to a lack of space and capacity, we are undertaking a number of projects at our facilities in both Warwickshire and Milton Keynes. However, the new Hella facility will enable us to undertake all of this under one roof.”
LXB chief executive Tim Walton added: “The current Prodrive site is a gateway location with which LXB is proud to be associated. Facilitating the retention, in Banbury, of such a prestigious and highly regarded company as Prodrive, the creation of hundreds of new jobs, and expanding Banbury’s retail offer are all overwhelmingly positive developments for the local area. During these difficult economic times, LXB is pleased, in partnership with Prodrive, to be coming forward with such an exciting proposal.”
samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
