May 31, 2023MCLAREN APPOINTED CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTOR TO DELIVER KONECT 62
25 October 2022 - Henderson Park and Cole Waterhouse have appointed the McLaren Construction Group as main contractor to deliver the first phase of Konect 62, a major tri-modal logistics and industrial scheme in Yorkshire. The announcement follows the joint venture’s formal completion of the 136-acre site’s acquisition for £54 million. It has also newly signed a development debt facility with BentallGreenOak enabling the initial phase to get underway.
Phase One will see the speculative development of 1.1 million sq ft of state-of-the-art, energy efficient warehouse space across four units, all built to BREEAM Excellent sustainability standards. This will include ‘Big K’ a 735,000 sq ft unit, one of the largest ever delivered in the North of the UK, as well as three further units of 161,000, 151,000 and 55,000 sq ft, catering to a variety of potential occupiers.
Konect 62 holds full planning consent for 1.4 million sq ft of prime logistics accommodation, however plans are under review to enlarge the scheme to c. 1.8 million sq ft, enabling it to better fulfil the strong occupier demand, with a further planning application for the additional area due to be submitted in the new year.
David Nuttall, Managing Director of Cole Waterhouse industrial and logistics, commented: “Appointing McClaren to deliver these sustainable and high-quality units so quickly after we acquired the land and completed the construction funding is a major step forward for Konect and a statement of intent from the partners involved. We plan to be on site within four weeks with completion from Q3 2023. The range of units we are developing will appeal to a diverse range of occupiers who will bring high quality jobs and investment to the area and cement Konect as a significant employment destination in anticipation of our future phases in the coming years.”
Commenting on the investment, Christophe Kuhbier, Managing Director at Henderson Park, said: “This strategically located site is optimally placed to deliver much needed capacity into the critically undersupplied Yorkshire industrial market, with local vacancy rates of 2.2%. We are confident that the sustainability and technical specifications of the scheme we are developing will appeal to the highest quality logistics operators as well as traditional industrial occupiers, who are increasingly energy conscious. We are excited to get the project underway and deliver what we believe will be an exemplary regeneration of a major brownfield site.”
Jim Blakemore, Global Head of Debt at BentallGreenOak, said: “We are delighted to be supporting Henderson Park and Cole Waterhouse on this project in a key logistics location in the UK. The business plan reflects our debt investment thesis which is to finance best-in-class sponsors who are creating high-quality assets in strong and sustainable locations. This investment builds on 4 million sq ft of logistics assets which BentallGreenOak have lent on in the UK and European logistics markets over the last two years.”
The development represents the country’s only inland distribution park ready enabled to offer tri-modal connectivity to the UK and continental Europe via road, water or rail. The site will have a high level of power capacity for energy intensive operations allowing it to appeal to both traditional industrial and logistics occupiers. Located at the crucial axis of the M62 and the A1(M) it is positioned to address local, regional and national markets as well as international markets with a number of sea ports and main UK air freight hubs within 4.5 hours.
The project team includes: C4 Projects acting as architect, project manager and cost consultant; planning consultant Barton Wilmore; XOsquare as structural engineer; Novo Integration (M&E); Terra 97 (Geo-environmental) and Axis PED (transport).
DTRE and Sixteen Real Estate are acting as joint letting agents for the scheme.
About Cole Waterhouse
Cole Waterhouse is a UK developer with offices in Manchester and London. The company focusses on a small number of significantly sized projects at any given time, ensuring projects receive the high levels of detail, attention and management they require and deserve. Cole Waterhouse has a proven ability to uncover under-recognised, off-market opportunities. Currently the firm is developing over 2 million sq. ft. of industrial space and over 2,000 residential units.
Visit www.colewaterhouse.co.uk for more information.
About Konect 62
Located on a former coal mine near Wakefield, the site is strategically located at the nexus of key transport infrastructure and The U.K.’s four major container ports are all within a four hour drive via the M62 and A1 (M) motorways, and the site offers direct access to the Strategic Freight Network with an onsite railway station that caters for trains up to 640 metres long. Immediate onsite access to the Aire & Calder canal waterway unlocks potential freight links to the Leeds and Humber ports.
Sustainability will be a key consideration at all stages of development, with the finished assets targeting BREEAM certification and other specifications desired by occupiers. The wider masterplan for the land surrounding the site also includes the Southmoor Energy Centre, offering a potential supply of low carbon energy to the estate in the future.
In the first phase of the development over 4,000 trees are being planted to include a diverse mix of native species. The development will also have electric vehicle charging points and 400 cycle parking spaces, demonstrating its excellent ESG credentials. Additionally, a new pedestrian footpath will link around the site passing through extensive areas of new landscaping, and a cycle route will be installed to connect Weeland Road to the Knottingley and Goole Canal.
