Highcross lets 1m sq ft…B&M now 1m sq ft occupier

Highcross has followed its 405,000 sq ft deal to Jaguar Land Rover in Ellesmere Port with a 456,000 sq ft shed deal to B&M Retail at the Big Rack in Deacon Park, Knowsley, and a 213,000 sq ft deal in Crewe.

B&M Retail's main base is the 603,000 sq ft Vault shed in Speke, which it acquired from Rockpoint for £14m in 2009. The Big Rack deal takes its occupation across the two sites to 1,059,000 sq ft. B&M has paid £1.50/sq ft headline rent on a three-year lease at the Big Rack, taking advantage of the ongoing tenant's market. Big Rack was previously occupied by Allen Logistics, servicing a contract for Kopparberg cider.

Jones Lang LaSalle, DTZ and CBRE advised Highcross. Simon Arora, managin director of B&M, did his own negotaiting. B&M has 280 stores and is expanding rapidly.

In addition, Highcross has completed the high-profile letting of the 405,365 sq ft Phoenix facility off the M53 at Ellesmere Port, to Jaguar Land Rover on a ten-year lease at £3.75/sq ft.

The facility will be managed by Jaguar Land Rover's logistics provider, DHL, and is set to create around 300 jobs in the area. Agents for Highcross were Jones Lang LaSalle, B8RE, and CBRE.

The third major letting is to Davis Haulage, which is moving to Highcross' Crewe 213 distribution unit on the Crewe Gates Industrial Estate. Highcross has let the 213,291 sq ft unit to Davis Haulage on a ten-year lease at £3.45/sq ft.

The unit was selected by Davis Haulage to accommodate growth from a number of new and existing customers, including Primebake, Tesco and Morrisons. Crewe 213 has been fully refurbished by Highcross. Both sides were unrepresented.

The deals mean Highcross now has no vacant sheds in the region. It has remaining office space to let at Deva City Office Park in Manchester and Genesis Centre in Birchwood among others.

Richard Pellatt, director of Highcross, said: "This has been a record month, with our three largest warehouse/distribution units in the North West now all fully let within a matter of weeks of each other. The lettings to B&M Retail and Jaguar Land Rover are by far the largest deals in the North West this year, and with availability of major distribution/industrial units now much reduced in the region, we expect to see further occupational interest in tenant-led design and build opportunities, like our Orion Park scheme in Crewe."