Work begins on multi-million pound warehouse scheme in Wolverhampton

(l-r): Steven Jaggers, JLL; Carl Durant, JLL; Noel Muscutt, Bulleys; Luke Hill, Black Country Consortium; (with spade) Angus Huntley, Stoford Developments; James Bird, Bulleys; Daniel Shepherd, Royal London Asset Management; Christian Smith, Savills; Tim Johnson, City of Wolverhampton Council; Guy Bowden, Bridges Fund Management.

Work has started on delivering more than 240,000 sq ft of industrial units in Wolverhampton, which could pave the way for 250 jobs.

Four grade A industrial/warehouse units are being developed at Pantheon Park, close to Bentley Bridge Retail Park in Wednesfield, by leading commercial property developer Stoford Developments and specialist sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management. The development will be funded by Royal London Asset Management (RLAM).

Appointed contractor A&H Construction has now moved on to the 12-acre site, where it will build the units that vary in size from 30,000 sq ft and 133,000 sq ft. Practical completion is scheduled for February 2020.

Angus Huntley, Development Manager, Stoford Developments, said: “We’ve been working hard to get the site ready and are pleased to see that the next stage to deliver the units has now started. We are confident that Pantheon Park will appeal to major occupiers, looking for high-quality units in a strategic location.”

Guy Bowden, Partner, Property Funds, Bridges Fund Management, said: “For many years, this site was empty and unloved. With support from the Black Country LEP and City of Wolverhampton Council, we’ve been able to bring it back into use thanks to a significant amount of environmental remediation work – and we’re delighted that we can now get on site to build these units.

“We believe they will be really attractive to a broad range of major logistics and industrial businesses, which should ultimately bring hundreds of jobs to the local area. I look forward to working with both Stoford and RLAM on this project.”

UK car dealership Arnold Clark has also recently started on site with the construction of its motorstore, which is due to open later this year, while an additional unit has been earmarked for storage company Lok’nStore.

Stoford has delivered projects totalling over 13 million sq ft of floor space across the UK since 1996, while Bridges Fund Management has a 15-year track record of delivering strong commercial returns alongside measurable social and environmental benefits.

For Pantheon Park, they secured a £23 million funding agreement with Royal London Asset Management and also received a loan of more than £3m from Black Country LEP to help with remediation and demolition costs.

Pantheon Park is situated in a prime industrial and logistics location just 2 miles from Wolverhampton city centre, 4 miles from M6 (J10) via the A454, and 3.4 miles from Junction 1 of the M54. The site also benefits from its close proximity to the M6 Toll, M5, M54 and M42 motorways.

For all enquiries, contact the scheme’s retained agents, Bulleys, Savills or JLL.