Prologis is lining up the first major speculative shed development in the UK for five years.
The US developer has this week bought the 32-acre Boscombe Road site in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, from ICP Asset Management after lender Deutsche Hypo called in a loan of around £20m.
Rival shed giant Gazeley had been acting as development manager for the site, which has consent for a £90m, 755,000 sq ft shed.
However, Prologis will now submit new plans for two sheds of 300,000 sq ft and 360,000 sq ft, both of which it intends to develop speculatively.
Prologis UK managing director Andrew Griffiths said: “There is a shortage of new facilities in this size range in the South East, and we are pleased to have secured a deliverable site on the M1 corridor which we anticipate will be of great interest to our customer base.”
The Dunstable site is Prologis’ first land purchase in the South East since 2007.
Dowley Turner Real Estate partner Keith Dowley said there were pockets in the South East and around the Midlands where a lack of vacant large sheds is making speculative development attractive.
He warned there was a lack of investor/developers that had access to funding to develop speculatively, however.
“There are not many parties that have the right money available for spec building, irrespective of whether you believe the demand/supply argument,” said Dowley.
“Prologis, however, is in that position, and you would expect that from the market leader in its field. It was the pioneer of spec building in this country, after all.”
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
