Opus to deliver new APC Overnight distribution centre
HENLEY in Arden-based developer Opus Land has started work on a £15m distribution facility at Cannock’s Kingswood Lakeside, on a 12-acre site purchased from Staffordshire County Council.
The 138,000 sq ft, cross-docked warehouse will provide a new national hub for APC Overnight – the UK’s largest independent next day parcel service.
APC’s relocation, in response to a 12 per cent growth in its business (currently exceeding 17m parcels a month), more than doubles the capacity of its current location at Essington near Wolverhampton, and will benefit from new generation materials handling technology, including an Interroll cross-belt sortation system.
Opus Land development director Gareth Williams said: “APC’s new premises are the culmination of a close working relationship, during which we have developed a freehold, design and build solution which matches its requirements perfectly both now and into the future.”
The building is scheduled for completion before the end of this year and has attracted some £10m of funding from Barclays with whom APC has an eight-year relationship.
Steve Salt, head of Sales and Marketing for APC Overnight, said: “This spells the beginning of a very exciting time for the business. We have been running at maximum capacity in our current hub for over 18 months and the start of works to the new site means that we can look ahead to providing more customers with our first class service and grow APC even further.”
Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for economic growth and prosperity Ben Adams, said: “It is gratifying to see work well underway on this new logistics centre which is transforming a former colliery site into a thriving business centre.”
CBRE advised APC in the negotiations.
