Logistics firm takes over former Boohoo warehouse creating 1,500 jobs
Boohoo’s former 1.1m sq ft warehouse in Daventry has been sublet to Bleckmann, a logistics firm specialising in supply chain management for fashion and lifestyle brands.
The move is expected to generate up to 1,500 new jobs once the facility reaches full capacity, as Bleckmann expands its UK operations by over 1m sq ft to a total of 3.2m sq ft.
Originally built by Arcadia Group for £29.4m in 2019, the property was later acquired by Boohoo in 2021 through a complex deal.
Investor-developer Prologis had purchased the former Arcadia warehouse from Deloitte’s administrators for over £60m in a competitive “best bid” process before leasing it to Boohoo.
Boohoo, which has now rebranded as Debenhams Group after acquiring the Debenhams brand in 2021, took on a 15-year lease at a rent thought to be around £7 per sq ft.
The facility was then closed by the fashion retailer in early 2023.
A spokesperson for Debenhams Group said: “The Group is pleased to have assigned to a new tenant the remainder of the lease of its Daventry site.”
The property features a cross-docked design with a 21m clear internal height, 68 dock and eight level access doors, and a 55m yard depth.
It also includes 40,294 sq ft of grade A office space, 444 car parking spaces, and 88 HGV spaces and is equipped with LED lighting, a sprinkler system, and racking in part.
Bleckmann, which partners with brands like Cloudnine, Superdry, and Gymshark, has equipped the new site with automation technology, including an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS) shuttle system to improve efficiency.
Reinardt van Oel, Bleckmann’s chief operations officer for Belgium and the UK said: “The UK is a critical growth market for Bleckmann. Over the last few years, we have expanded significantly, growing from serving five clients in a single warehouse to managing operations for over 60 brands across eight logistics centres.”
Giles Weir, UK head of tenant Representation at JLL said: “Bleckmann’s rapid growth as one of the most active third-party logistics providers in the UK highlights its confidence in the market. This new operational space will be pivotal in enabling them to achieve their ambitious growth targets.”
