Kier Property makes four-acre Sharston buy
Acquiring the south Manchester holding from Siemens subsidiary Electrium, the firm will redevelop it into 98,000 sq ft across nine units under its Trade City brand, a project with a GDV of £26m.
The site on Sharston Industrial Estate currently houses around 130,000 sq ft of buildings associated with electrical manufacturing added to on an ad hoc basis over the years, and now described as no longer fit for purpose.
The site is 3m from Manchester Airport and benefits from access to the M60 and M56.
Demolition of the existing buildings is currently under way, with the build programme pencilled in for a start early in 2026, targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A status.
The scheme will contribute to the more than 6.7m sq ft already delivered under Kier Property’s Trade City and Logistics City brands.
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Leigh Thomas, group managing director at Kier Property, said: “This is a well-located site that gives us a fantastic opportunity to continue our history of delivering sustainable, well-designed industrial space in key regional markets.
“Our new Trade City scheme in Sharston will be our 60th industrial scheme and will provide high-specification units that meet the growing demand for last-mile logistics and modern trade accommodation, while also supporting local employment and economic growth”.
JLL represented Kier on the acquisition, and is retained as joint agent along with Savills.
Richard Johnson, director at JLL, said: “Sharston Industrial Estate is an established industrial employment area which hasn’t seen any new build development for over 10 years.
“With excellent access to Manchester Airport, the city centre, and key motorways, this development is perfectly positioned to attract diverse occupiers seeking modern, sustainable facilities in a prime logistics location”.
Alex Palfreyman, director at Savills added: “We’re pleased to be working alongside Kier Property on their new site in Sharston. The proposed nine-unit industrial scheme will deliver much-needed, high-quality space to a well-established South Manchester location, ideally suited for a range of occupiers. With strong demand in the market, we anticipate significant interest in this development.”
I welcome any attempt to consolidate the range and quality of industrial buildings on the Sharston estate, as well as providing opportunities for more local employment. I realise that this is a summary of the work, but would like to know whether it incorporates a significant allocation of the area to parking, as we have a growing problem of cars parked unhelpfully, dangerously and illegally.
By JB
Please make good provision for parking onside as local residents have previously been blocked in their homes by innaprropriate parking by local businesses. Please respect the 43 bus stop outside it is a main airport route & do not block the pavement & bus stops
By Anonymous
Could the developers push for reopening of the Northenden train station which runs not far from this development, helping improve transport and parking problems.
By KB