Major M&S logistics warehouse to be built in the South West following land deal
The £74m pre-let and sale of a planned M&S logistics unit in Bristol has been completed in what is being seen as a significant boost to the South West’s commercial property market.
Construction of the 390,000 sq ft high-specification warehouse at Axis Works, Avonmouth, is set to begin imminently having been pre-let to M&S on a 20-year lease following the sale by Epta Development Corporation (EDC) and its Birmingham-based development partner, Stoford to property firm LondonMetric.
It represents the largest forward funding deal in the UK in the past 18 months.
Designed to the highest sustainability standards, the unit is targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A, and is expected to be completed in summer next year.
Axis Works – regarded as one of the UK’s most sought-after distribution locations – spans 101 acres of former industrial land and has hybrid planning consent to deliver around 2m sq ft of new industrial, warehouse and logistics space.
The site was acquired by Vancouver-headquartered EDC in 2020 as its first venture into the British property market and has since undergone significant remediation, including the demolition of the former AstraZeneca Avlon Works pharmaceutical plant, site elevation and servicing, and extensive drainage infrastructure improvements.
Chris Tsakumis, principal at EDC, said: “We are pleased to have invested in the site and our long-term UK investment strategy has reaped initial dividends with the announcement of our first occupier and investment sale at Axis Works. We look forward to making further positive announcements in the near future.”
Dan Gallagher, Stoford joint managing director, added: “We’ve been working on this opportunity alongside EDC for the last two years and are delighted to see it come to fruition.
“We have already made a significant investment in site infrastructure and look forward to delivering a state-of-the-art logistics facility in one of the UK’s most sought-after distribution locations.”
Andrew Jones, chief executive of LondonMetric, added: “This is a high quality development let on a very long lease to one of the UK’s strongest retailers. It will deliver income longevity, certainty and guaranteed growth. It further extends our relationship with M&S and adds another exceptional building to LondonMetric’s portfolio.”
Alex Freudmann, MD of M&S Food, said: “Modernising our supply chain is key to increasing the capacity in our network and will help us get ahead of the volume curve we are driving in M&S Food to meet our ambition of becoming a shopping list retailer. This new site will ensure that we’re getting the right products to the right stores at the right time for our customers. It will also create a great working environment for our colleagues.”
CBRE and Knight Frank acted for EDC and Stoford. Lambert Smith Hampton represented M&S.
Axis Works lies in a strategically important location in South Gloucestershire, within the Avonmouth-Severnside Enterprise Area.
Avara Avlon Pharma Services, which bought the Avlon site from AstraZeneca, fell into administration in 2019.
