Work starts on £1.4m speculative office scheme

Construction work has started on a £1.4m speculative industrial development in Warwickshire.

Coventry-based Deeley Construction is building contractor at the former Mallard Lodge site in Marsh Lane, Water Orton, working on behalf of Flexdart.

Flexdart is a scrap metal merchant, with clients around the world; it is now branching out into property development as the business evolves.

The firm, which was established in 1957, has selected Deeley Construction to undertake the work on the 16,000 sq ft industrial property, which includes a two-storey office, delivery area and car parking.

The site was previously a house known as Mallard Lodge and had historically been used as a workshop for car repairs from the 1940s.

Nic Bevan, of Flexdart, said: “The scrap metal side of the business is expanding. We have a global customer base and are always looking for new opportunities within the trade.

“However, we also want to diversify the business and saw this as a great opportunity to develop a property that we could lease out to another company and bring further employment into the area.

“It’s ideally located, close to the M42 and M6 motorways which provide ready access to the rest of the UK mainland and ports, within 15 minutes’ drive of an international container base, train station and airport we believe it will attract significant interest.”

Martin Gallagher, managing director of Deeley Construction, said that speculative industrial development had been rare in recent years but was vital for the growth of the regional economy.

He said: “We are delighted to be underway at Water Orton on behalf of Flexdart after being successful in the competitive tender process.

“There is not a huge amount of speculative development being undertaken when it comes to industrial premises but there is certainly a need for it.”

Pictured: Richard Hammond, of Deeley Construction, left, with Nic Bevan, of Flexdart.