IM Properties has completed the sale of 35.5 acres to Ocado
Group plc after securing detailed planning permission for a 575,000
sq ft Customer Fulfilment Centre ("CFC") at its Birch Coppice
Business Park, North Warwickshire.
The £210m facility - Ocado's second Customer Fulfilment
Centre - will generate over 2,000 jobs, providing a positive boost
for the local and regional economies. The high-tech CFC,
incorporating several operational levels and mezzanine structures,
will have a geographical footprint of 350,000 sq ft, and a capacity
of approximately 120,000 orders per week at initiation of
operations - increasing to approximately 180,000 orders per
week.
Due to be completed in late 2012, the development represents the
first development on the Birch Coppice site's 124-acre Phase 2,
which has already received planning permission for up to 2 million
sq ft of design and build opportunities.
Kevin Ashfield, development manager at IM Properties, said:
"Ocado is a major, fast-growing online food retailer and the
confidence the company has shown in its commitment to Birch Coppice
is testament to the strength and quality of our location.
"Birch Coppice presents an attractive offer for any business,
with its location and proximity to the UK's motorway network and
availability of a local workforce. We are looking forward to the
construction of the unit commencing next month now that the ground
works are complete."
News of the successful planning application follows an
announcement, earlier this month, that Ocado is expanding its
delivery network with the opening of new regional distribution
'spoke' sites in Bristol (now open) and Wimbledon (opening in May).
The online supermarket reported a gross sales increase of 24.7% for
the 12 weeks to 20 February 2011.
Tim Steiner, Chief Executive Officer, Ocado, said: "Ocado is
growing rapidly across the country and Birch Coppice is the perfect
site for the next phase of our development.
"When our new CFC opens in 2012 we will have capacity to provide
many more customers with the UK's leading online grocery offering.
The Ocado team is looking forward to making its mark here,
becoming a major local employer and taking food retail to the next
level."
Birch Coppice Business Park, incorporating the Birmingham
Intermodal Freight Terminal, is the largest rail-served development
site in the region. Due to its outstanding location and quality of
site, the development is already home to a range of blue-chip
companies, including TNT Logistics, Severn Trent Services and
UPS.
The infrastructure and ground works currently being undertaken
across all of Phase 2 of Birch Coppice are due to be completed in
July 2011, with design and build opportunities available for units
up to 1 million sq ft.