600 jobs to be created at Markham Vale
Henry Boot Developments and Derbyshire County Council have completed another two units two further units at Markham Vale in a move that will create around 600 jobs at logistics company Great Bear Distribution and supply chain specialist Gist.
Works started on the second facility for Great Bear Distribution at Markham Vale on 16 January 2017, with practical completion achieved during September 2017 following a 35 week build period.
Markham Vale says that it is anticipating “huge” interest for jobs with a projected 800 roles between the two units when they are fully operational. This second unit will bring Great Bear Distribution’s occupancy to nearly 1m sq ft at Markham Vale.
The Gist unit, which is the third to complete on Markham Vale North following Ferdinand Bilstein UK (212,800 sq ft) and Great Bear Distribution (479,285 sq ft), is a 90,760 sq ft chilling and storage facility. It is anticipated that 200 jobs will be created at the facility once it is fully operational.
Vivienne Clements, director at Henry Boot Developments, said: “The announcement of the second unit for Great Bear Distribution and the Gist Limited facility at Markham Vale was absolutely brilliant and reflected great confidence from the firms in the region. Now that the near 500,000 sq ft unit for Great Bear Distribution has completed on Markham Vale North, we are extremely pleased to have delivered circa one million sq ft for them, providing a national hub for their operations. Not only does this create a huge buzz in terms of development in the region, it also creates excellent job opportunities for local people.
“Following this we are delighted to announce practical completion of the 90,760 sq ft unit for Gist Limited, the third unit on Markham Vale North. The build period was extremely quick and we are proud of our capabilities to deliver to such a tight deadline. On the North, more than 20 acres of land now remains capable of sub division into units from as little as 15,000 sq ft up to 300,000 sq ft.
“We strive to deliver such high specification units at Markham Vale and as a result ensure we meet demand and requirements for firms like Great Bear Distribution and Gist Limited, to make Markham Vale an attractive and achievable location. With 22 acres of land remaining, capable of sub-division, we hope to announce new deals going in to 2018.”
Peter Yarwood, regional operations director at Great Bear, said: “We are very impressed with how quick not one, but two units have been delivered by Henry Boot Developments and Derbyshire County Council in such a short build time. On the back of the first unit, we agreed a deal for a second on Markham Vale North and due to a transition of a large part of our Midlands operations to Markham Vale, we needed a speedy delivery with no bumps along the way.
“We look forward to our second base becoming fully operational in the coming months, to benefit from the excellent motorway links and access routes which will help us to service our clients much more effectively.”
Alan Devine, managing director, Gist, said: We are happy to be working with Henry Boot and Derbyshire County Council on the development of this important new extension to our national food and logistics network, on time and on budget.
The new consolidation centre will significantly increase our ability to bring great service to our customers.”
Derbyshire County Council Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Regeneration Councillor Tony King said: “We’re delighted to handover the keys to Great Bear Distribution and Gist Limited – both companies will be creating jobs for local people which is fantastic news and they will be a real boost to the Derbyshire economy.
“Driving economic growth and creating more job opportunities are key priorities of ours and we’re really pleased that Markham continues to play a vital role in bringing investment into the county.
“We look forward to following the progress of both firms over the coming months and welcoming even more businesses to the site this year.”
