Prologis has bought Vauxhall Motors’ former Luton head office for an £80m industrial scheme.
Vauxhall and Latimer Land Luton first brought the 17.2-acre site to market in June 2019 with Colliers International, targeting residential developers and seeking bids in excess of £25m. The acquisition price exceeded the guide price.
The car manufacturer moved its operations to a new facility in Toddington and engaged the council in pre-application discussions about a potential £300m scheme for 950 homes and a 150-bedroom hotel, with commercial and community space.
The site is located south-east of Luton town centre, close to Luton Airport Parkway Station with a 20-minute journey to King’s Cross. A large number of residential opportunities in Luton has seen weakened demand for projects of this scale. However, appetite for industrial space remains strong.
Prologis will demolish the 300,000 sq ft of buildings over two sites, to be replaced with 300,000 sq ft of new warehousing, logistics and manufacturing space in two development phases. It will provide a range of unit sizes with space for SMEs.
Ollie Bycroft, vice president in the leasing and development team at Prologis UK, said: “Luton is an incredibly important location for businesses large and small who want well-connected sites for their logistics and distribution operations, in close proximity to key markets, such as London. The logistics sector is booming and we are meeting that demand by providing buildings in the right locations, with the right connectivity.”
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