Logistics group moves into Worcestershire

PHARMACEUTICAL logistics group Movianto has taken out a lease on a large distribution unit in Worcestershire.

The business – part of O&M Movianto Europe, a subsidiary of US-based Owens & Minor, based in Richmond, Virginia – has leased the 27,630 sq ft Unit 2, Finepoint in Kidderminster from Gemini Properties (UK).

The deal was brokered by industrial property agents Halls Commercial.

The lease takes Movianto’s UK portfolio to four sites – the others being Bedford, Belfast and Knowsley; a total capacity of almost 550,000 sq ft.

The company counts the NHS as its largest UK client and it is aiming to be the preferred European healthcare logistics provider.

Each of the units is fit for purpose, offering temperature-controlled ambient and cold storage, controlled drugs and frozen storage. This meets the requirements of the NHS while also giving the company the option of delivering direct to patients’ homes.

Halls Commercial agency partner Richard Tomlinson said: “Unit 2 Finepoint is an excellent quality building, as new, with a large yard, so we had lots of interest from potential occupiers.”

Movianto finance director David Tinsley said: “There is a real lack of high quality industrial buildings anywhere within easy reach of the M5/M42 corridor, so the Finepoint unit and the approach of Wyre Forest in making Kidderminster attractive made it the ideal location for expanding our distribution network.”

Gemini Properties director Nick Jethwa said it was always on the lookout for commercial properties that could add value to the needs of its clients.

“We are able to purchase complex sites and properties quickly and are actively looking for development and investment opportunities in both commercial and residential sectors across the UK,” he said.

Finepoint was built in 2008 when Wyre Forest District Council (WFDC) moved to new purpose-built council offices nearby.

WFDC created the South Kidderminster Enterprise Park around the site to attract new businesses to Kidderminster with a Local Development Order to simplify the planning process and encourage new entrants to the area and existing businesses to expand their operations.

The most recent phase of construction comprises the ContinU Plus Academy, together with a new warehouse and manufacturing facility for Oakleaf Commercial Services; part of the Community Housing Group, along with the council offices.

A £12m development has started on the adjacent 13-acre former Romwire site to build a new manufacturing centre for Specsavers, across two industrial units covering 77,000 sq ft. The new centre is set to create more than 200 jobs over the next five years.

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