British Red Cross signs at Artis Park

Joint venture developers Maple Grove and Kier have agreed terms with the international charity for 26,770 sq ft in the first phase of the Winsford industrial scheme.

Artis Park is a £14m trade and industrial development on Road One at Winsford Industrial Estate.

The availability of this space means that the British Red Cross, a long-term holder of two units on the estate, will now consolidate into one unified space, larger than the previous spaces combined.

The charity has taken Units 11 and 12 on a ten-year lease, housing e-commerce stock generation and processing facilities.

For Artis Park’s developers, the deal means that 65% of phase one, comprising 10 units offering 68,000 sq ft, is now occupied. Tenants include Screwfix, Toolstation and Ross Care.

HP Construction started work in May on phase two, which is being part-funded by a £5m loan from the Cheshire & Warrington LEP.

Due for completion in late 2021, this phase will offer 53,000 sq ft of employment space across three units ranging in size from 10,560sq ft to 26,620sq ft. 

Gerald Eve and Legat Owen are the retained agents at Artis Park, while Williams Sillitoe advised the British Red Cross.

Maple Grove Developments is the Eric Wright Group’s development arm. Nik Puttnam, MGD’s senior development manager, said: “After a period of uncertainty, this is an encouraging sign that organisations are now making strategic decisions about their property assets and the next step for their business.

“This is representative of the significant upturn in enquiries we are seeing from businesses looking to relocate or expand their facilities.”

Gareth Morgan, head of UK retail performance at the British Red Cross, said; “We look forward to significantly growing the contribution of both these areas of our business in the years to come and share the estate’s sustainability aspirations.

“We commit to making a continued contribution to tackle the huge volume of unwanted items that end up in landfills each year. This new unit will allow us to receive many more tonnes of donations.”