Verdion and the Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan are set to speculatively develop 680,000 sq ft of warehouse space at its iPort multimodal logistics hub, in Doncaster.
The project has a £85m GDV. In the new phase, Verdion will bring forward four buildings ranging from 116,000 sq ft to 260,000 sq ft by Q3 2022.
The first building, measuring 173,500 sq ft, is expected to complete before Christmas this year.
Verdion’s previous speculative phase was completed in March earlier this year, with Woodland Group and luxury homeware retailer Dusk signing for its final two units.
The remaining 1.7m sq ft at iPort includes capacity for buildings of up to 800,000 sq ft, sitting alongside its phased speculative space. In total, the site has scope for 6m sq ft of logistics and light industrial space.
The news comes as the park’s on-site rail terminal has been given the green light from the government for an on-site customs area, meaning that trains can clear customs in South Yorkshire and use the Channel Tunnel to transport goods to and from the UK. It is believed to be the first strategic rail freight interchange in the UK to achieve consent.
The logistics park’s other occupiers include Amazon, Ceva, Fellowes, Lidl, Maritime Transport and Kingsbury Press.
John Clements, executive director of Verdion, said: “This is an extraordinary market, with no high-quality new space above 100,000 sq ft currently available in South or West Yorkshire, and occupier demand remaining strong.
“This development programme steps up the pace and will deliver a range of new warehousing throughout the park designed to meet requirements across a number of size bands.
“Although many businesses will be driven by e-commerce sector growth and employment opportunities, we’re also expecting others drawn by the significant power available and opportunity to move into rail freight.
“Speed is going to be important, but these sites are already prepared for development with services installed and materials pre-ordered, so we’re in a position to move quickly.”
Gent Visick, Colliers and CBRE are the leasing agents on the scheme.
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