Midlands Property Lunch: ‘We’re ready for the future,’ says IM Properties development director
The UK development director of the firm behind the groundbreaking Peddimore scheme in the West Midlands and one of the biggest-ever industrial pre-lets in the UK has told a packed audience at TheBusinessDesk.com’s latest networking lunch that although the pace of change in the industry is moving fast, IM Properties (IMP) is very much ready for the future.
Speaking before almost 100 professionals at the Hyatt Regency in Birmingham city centre, Kevin Ashfield of IMP outlined his vision for these schemes – as well as a host of others across the East and West Midlands that the company has been responsible for.
IMP is one of the UK’s largest privately-owned property companies and a significant investor in the region and in particular on the M42 corridor with existing schemes including Birch Coppice, Blythe Valley Park and Fore Business Park, where its new £30m state-of-the-art headquarters are based.
Planning was also recently gained on Peddimore one of the UK’s most significant new manufacturing and logistics locations, which is soon to launch 1.38 million sq ft of employment space and is already delivering a significant Social Value programme to benefit the local surrounding community.
Meanwhile, Ashfield also outlined the plans for the new 2.94m sq ft campus at junction 11, M42, which will put North West Leicestershire right at the heart of Jaguar Land Rover’s global aftermarket business and enable it to evolve and grow the company, maintaining its competitiveness in a challenging global marketplace.
The new facility, which will service 80 countries, will provide a major boost to the local economy, enabling Jaguar Land Rover to sustain and create jobs, both in its business and its supply chain, with 1,200 positions required from day one and 3,000 forecast by 2030.
Ashfield said: “What we do with all our schemes is try and move things forward. Evolution is needed in the logistics sector and we’re at the heart of that with Peddimore, shifting the focus to concentrate on placemaking, amenity and creating the best environment for businesses to flourish. Amenities are key to bringing in and retaining the best quality occupiers, and we thought it was about time our sector stepped up to the mark.”
Ashfield also outlined IMP’s work around investing in the wider community which surrounds Peddimore. Ashfield said creating a “positive legacy” is just as important for the company as other aspects of the regeneration of the site.
Looking to the future, Ashfield said: “The big change in our industry over the last two decades has obviously been the widescale impact of technology. Things are changing fast, but we’re not afraid; we’re very much ready and looking forward to the future.”
