Pictured above: Peter Rudd, senior development surveyor for
St. Modwen and Paul Johnson, managing director of Jet Total Vehicle
Solutions plc
Jet Total Vehicle Solutions plc has signed a deal with St.
Modwen to take approximately 300,000 sq ft of space in a number of
newly refurbished units on a 15 year lease, plus eight acres of
open storage at Long Marston Business Park in Warwickshire. The
recent rapid expansion of Jet, which has been based at Long Marston
for over 10 years, has created around 90 new jobs for local
people.
Providing de-fleet and re-marketing support for many of the UK's
top automotive brands, Jet has significantly expanded its
operations at Long Marston from 167,000 sq ft to 300,000 sq ft,
relocating to the south side of the 470 acre Estate. Services
provided by Jet include transport logistics, car refurbishment,
valeting and storage, prior to commencement of a full marketing
service. A specialist car auction house is among Jet's facilities
at Long Marston.
Peter Rudd, senior development surveyor for St. Modwen, said:
"There are now over 500 people working at Long Marston Business
Park and it is tremendous news that Jet is now the largest
employer. Jet was established at Long Marston and it is a highly
impressive homegrown success. They identified a gap in the market
and are now one of the market leaders in their field, providing a
first class service to blue chip clients in the automotive
sector.
"We are undergoing a refurbishment programme across many of the
business units at Long Marston Business Park in order to offer high
quality, modern space to other local businesses. Around 100,000 sq
ft of space is currently available on a range of lease options in a
selection of units. Meanwhile, we are also working with our joint
venture partners Persimmon Homes to prepare the planning
application for the first phase of 270 homes, community and retail
facilities, sports pitches and new open space at the north side of
the 470 acre Estate. This is a really exciting time for this
landmark development project and the first phase is likely to
create over 200 construction jobs, bringing significant investment
into the area."
Jet is currently undergoing a significant recruitment drive to
fulfil vacancies across a number of its specialist departments.
Positions are currently available for drivers, quality control
inspectors, repair technicians, sales ledger accountants, call
centre agents, administrators and cleaning staff.
Paul Johnson, managing director and founder of Jet Total Vehicle
Solutions plc said: "It has been highly advantageous to us being
able to grow our business without having to relocate. From our
beginnings on Long Marston Business Park as a start-up business to
being one of the largest employers in the local area is something
that I am immensely proud of. In total we have 210 permanent staff
and a further 100 casual workers on site, with the recent expansion
creating 90 new jobs.
"St. Modwen has worked with us on the refurbishment programme to
ensure the range of new facilities meet our exacting standards. We
have made a significant investment in the fit-out of all the
buildings and we are delighted with the results. We are also very
much looking forward to welcoming the variety of new community
facilities, leisure properties and homes that St. Modwen and
Persimmon Homes will be developing as the first phase of new
development here."
The 470 acre Long Marston Masterplan also encompasses the
creation of a leisure development featuring 150 self-catering
lodges, 150 holiday homes, an 80-pitch caravan park, an outdoor
activity centre, football and cricket pitches and a rail-based
heritage centre. Marketing of the leisure development is ongoing
and is being carried out by the Stratford upon Avon office of
property consultants Knight Frank.
The outline planning consent for the development obtained in
February 2010 also sanctions a total of 500 new houses and
community and retail facilities and secures 860,000 sq ft of
existing employment space on site. St. Modwen is also retaining and
improving upon existing ecological habitats and
landscaping.