New owners promise £1bn investment to develop UK’s largest logistics site

The 734-acre West Midlands Interchange site is to be developed into a major logistics hub with the promise of £1bn of investment after the site was acquired.

Real estate investor Oxford Properties Group and Logistics Capital Partners have formed a joint venture to purchase the site that is west of Junction 12 of the M6 in South Staffordshire.

Oxford and LCP will jointly invest £1bn to bring forward the project over a number of years, with Oxford providing the majority of the capital and working alongside LCP’s team as development manager.

The West Midlands Interchange site was acquired from the shareholders of Four Ashes, a three way partnership including Kilbride Holdings and Grosvenor Group’s Indirect Investment business (Grosvenor).

Planning consent has already been secured by the vendors, which allows for the delivery of around 8m sq ft of prime logistics space and provides flexibility around the project timeline and scale of units.

Infrastructure works are expected to commence in the first half of next year with the first buildings starting on site in 2022 ready for occupation in 2023.

James Boadle, head of logistics and residential, Europe, at Oxford Properties, said: “In recent years we have significantly increased our exposure to the logistics sector globally through several major transactions, including making our first direct investment into European logistics last year with LCP.

“Logistics remains one of our highest conviction calls globally, benefitting from substantial undersupply of prime new space while the growth of e-commerce and demand for expedited supply chains continues unabated, accelerated by the effects of Covid-19.”

The site can accommodate new warehouses ranging in size from 200,000 square feet to over 1m square feet, with building heights up to 30 metres.

West Midlands Interchange could lead to the creation of 8,500 jobs and a further 8,100 indirect jobs. It is also expected to generate around £430m of local economic activity each year, and, through the supply chain, create over £900m of economic activity each year nationally.

The project will also create a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange, providing intermodal access for occupiers.

John Pagdin, head of UK Logistics Capital Partners, said: “We have been tracking this particular site for some time and are delighted to have secured the park alongside Oxford Properties.

“West Midlands Interchange is a fantastic opportunity to build out a uniquely positioned development scheme, allowing us to offer occupiers every possible size, scale, configuration and specification of unit with none of the usual planning delays or uncertainties often associated with schemes of this nature.”