Sheffield Business Park looks to welcome its newest tenant as fit out work on the Motorpoint car supermarket ramps up for a Spring 2017 opening.
The Sheffield office of Knight Frank, alongside automotive specialists Barber Wadlow, acted for Kames Capital in securing a new 20-year lease of the former Carcraft supermarket to industry giant Motorpoint.
The premises, one of the last 100,000 sq ft units available in the Sheffield City Region, attracted a host of potential occupiers interested due its close proximity to the M1 motorway and the capacity to expand business operations on the large site.
Rebecca Schofield, partner at Knight Frank in Sheffield, said: “Motorpoint already operates a comprehensive network of sites and they were keen to add Sheffield to their portfolio. Location was the key driver.
Chris Wakefield, fund manager at Kames Capital, said: “There was significant competitive interest in the property and we were pleased to be able to structure a deal with Motorpoint on the terms agreed. We are sure the site will prove a success for the tenant and represents a further endorsement of this key location.”
As the UK’s largest independent car retailer, with 12 sites nationwide, Motorpoint will occupy a prominent position on the 9.8 acre site off Europa Link at the popular business park, immediately off J33 and J34 M1.
The Motorpoint name is already well known to Sheffield having sponsored the Sheffield Arena for five years and this deal will boost Motorpoint’s presence in Yorkshire where it currently only operates a Castleford branch.
Adam Wadlow, partner at Barber Wadlow, added: “This transaction is further proof of the strong performance of the user car sector which is now in excess of eight million units per year and the major car supermarkets desire to build national networks to capitalise upon this substantial market.”
The site provides an extensive car sales area for around 275 vehicles housed in just under 111,000 sq ft along with workshop area, wash bay and spray bay. Externally the yard can accommodate 850 vehicles with room for future business expansion.
Motorpoint’s new site lies four miles east of Sheffield city centre and immediately adjacent to Junction 33 /34 of the M1 motorway. It is already home to occupiers including University of Sheffield’s Factory 2050, HSBC, SIG and Siemens.
Motorpoint already operates a comprehensive national network of sites located in Birmingham, Birtley, Burnley, Castleford, Chingford, Derby, Glasgow, Newport, Oldbury, Peterborough and Widnes.
Rebecca added: “The interest in the large scale industrial stock in South Yorkshire continues with very limited availability within the market to satisfy enquiries.”
