GMPF to forward-fund Monarch 330

Greater Manchester Pension Fund has reached an agreement to back the development of a 328,000 sq ft warehouse project at Kingsway Business Park, close to Rochdale.

GMPF and Wilson Bowden Developments have agreed terms for the delivery of the project, which is understood to be worth £40m.

Avison Young and JLL respectively acted for the parties, and are both retained as joint agents.

The site sits between the Asda and Amazon facilities at the park, close to Junction 21 of the M62. Kingsway is now a well-established logistics location, with occupiers including JD Sports, Thales, E-On and Dachser.

A single warehouse development on a 17-acre site, Monarch 330 is to comprise 309,000 sq ft of warehousing, with 19,000 sq ft of supporting office space.

In a statement, the agents said: “Avison Young and JLL are delighted to work with GMPF to bring to market this high specification warehouse of a scale which is becoming increasingly targeted by occupiers due to the unprecedented upswing in demand coming out of the Covid crisis.

“The site has excellent transport links and is strategically placed between Manchester and Leeds, at Junction 21 M62 with direct access to M62 and M60. The building is expected to be ready for occupation in September of this year.”

NFU Mutual bought the 216,000 sq ft Amazon shed at Kingsway in July 2021, off a guide price of £27m.

Also slated for Kingsway is an Advanced Machinery & Productivity Institute, for which £22.6m was secured from UK Research & Innovation’s Strength in Places fund in summer 2021.

This support will underwrite a five-year innovation programme, should an estimated £30m be found locally to deliver the building.