Top team selected to market pioneering Wakefield development
Posted by The Editor
A top team of leading commercial property agents from the Yorkshire region have been appointed to market ‘Wakefield 500’, Panattoni’s new prime large-scale speculative industrial development in Castleford off Junction 31 of the M62.
Panattoni, the world’s largest privately owned industrial developer, recently acquired the 23-acre site at Wakefield Europort from Delin Property, where it will deliver Panattoni Wakefield 500. The team comprises agents from Knight Frank’s Leeds, Sheffield and London offices, together with Colliers and CPP.
Iain McPhail, logistics and industrial property partner at Knight Frank’s Leeds office, explained: “This development comes at a time when supply of large-format logistics space remains severely constrained across the UK and specifically in the West Yorkshire region. Construction began in June, with completion scheduled for the second quarter of next year.
“This is a very exciting project for the whole team, as we have been heavily involved in this site for a number of years from its original conception and design stages. It will be very satisfying to see steels going up on this prime development”.
Chris Brown, development director for Panattoni. states, “The property will be delivered to a best-in-class specification, with 56 dock doors, 8 level access doors, cross docked loading, yard depths of up to 50 metres, 62 HGV spaces, 384 car parking spaces and a power supply of 2.5 MVA. The scheme will target BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and will achieve net zero carbon in construction, aligning with occupiers’ demand for sustainable, future-proofed buildings.”
Rob Whatmuff, director at Colliers, said: “Wakefield 500 ticks all the boxes for occupiers looking for large-scale logistics space, combining a prime location with excellent road and rail connectivity, access to a strong local workforce and a high-quality, modern specification. With a real shortage of good-quality space across West Yorkshire, we expect strong demand from businesses looking to grow or relocate. It’s a great addition to the Wakefield market, and we’re pleased to be part of the team bringing it forward.”
Toby Vernon, director at CPP added: “This is one of the most highly anticipated speculative industrial/logistics developments to come out of the ground across the whole of the Northern UK market. The scale of the building and the super prime location makes this development significant from a national perspective and we anticipate a high level of occupier demand from a broad range and depth of end users”.
Wakefield Europort is one of West Yorkshire’s premier logistics destinations, with high-profile occupiers such as Haribo, Warburtons, Asda, Royal Mail and Menzies. It offers direct access to Junction 31 of the M62 and connectivity via the M1 and A1(M), providing comprehensive motorway coverage across the North, Midlands and beyond with fantastic port connections and Leeds Bradford Airport within a 35-minute drive.
It is also home to a rail freight terminal operated by Maritime, offering occupiers an alternative to road-based distribution and supporting decarbonisation of supply chains. Wakefield benefits from a well-established logistics labour market and competitive occupancy costs relative to many comparable locations across the North.
