Europa Capital and its joint venture partner, global integrated property group Goodman, have pre-let a 110,000 ft² (approx. 10,220 m²) prime warehouse facility to Kent County Council (KCC) at New Hythe Commercial Park, Kent.
KCC has agreed a 25 year lease for the new warehouse facility, demonstrating the council’s commitment to New Hythe Commercial Park. The facility will be occupied by Kent County Supplies (KCS), the Education Supplies Division of Commercial Services, which is KCC’s wholly-owned trading company.
The development of the new building will be funded by Europa Capital and Goodman and will be completed and ready for occupation by Kent County Supplies by the end of the 2013 calendar year.
The letting is the first agreed at New Hythe Commercial Park, and follows news earlier this year that Goodman has secured detailed planning permission to develop three Grade A warehouses on site, totalling 232,000 ft² (approx. 21,550 m²) of high quality warehouse space.
New Hythe Commercial Park is situated 1.5 miles from Junction 4 of the M20, and only 14 miles from the M25, providing convenient access to the South East and wider UK transport network. A further 5.5 acres of land is available for the development of additional units.
Charles Crossland, Managing Director, Goodman UK Logistics said: “Goodman and Europa Capital have invested heavily in the outline infrastructure at New Hythe Commercial Park, and recently secured detailed planning consent for the scheme. The reward for this preparation has made the transition as smooth as possible and means that Kent County Supplies’ new facility will meet their business plan requirements and be fully operational by the end of the year.”
Ian McPherson OBE BEM, Managing Director, Commercial Services said: “We are delighted to be working with Goodman and Europa Capital on this critical development for our organization. Commercial Services, as a company wholly-owned by Kent County Council, is undergoing a major organizational transformation to place it in a much stronger and commercially agile position to meet the challenges of the future in returning superior value to its shareholder, KCC.
This new warehouse and office complex will support this strategy in providing a completely fit-for-purpose operational base for Kent County Supplies, one of the key divisions within Commercial Services, supplying products and services to a widespread educational customer base, comprising schools and colleges across the south east of England and beyond.”
CBRE and Altus Edwin Hill represented Goodman and Europa Capital. Michael Rogers represented Commercial Services.
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