St Francis Group signs up second occupier at prime new Redditch business park development

A joint venture between brownfield regeneration specialist St Francis Group and the Richardson family has announced that it has secured a second occupier at Velocity 42, a brand-new warehouse and distribution centre development in Redditch.

Unit 5 extending to 93,720 sq ft and the largest unit on the park has been let to Avon Freight Group on a new 15-year lease and comes only weeks after building works were completed on the new five-unit scheme which extends to 330,000 sq ft in total.

Unit 1 at 45,500 sq ft has already been sold and is now occupied by Heartbeat UK, a design and manufacturing company.

Avon Freight Group a freight/logistics operator already based in Redditch is expecting to move in with immediate effect. The signing of the lease comes at a time of rapid business expansion and new client contracts for the company creating a requirement for additional storage capacity. The facility will be used to handle food products and can store 15,000 pallets.

Velocity 42 is part of a 1.1M sq ft development portfolio completed by St Francis within the last 14 months.

Commenting on the lease, Gareth Williams at St Francis Group said: “We are delighted to announce the signing of a second occupier so soon after completion of the scheme. This further underpins the decision to develop these units speculatively.The three remaining units are attracting the interest of occupiers with requirements along the M42 corridor and I expect a third announcement will follow soon.”

Also commenting Simon Poole, Managing Director at Avon Freight Group said: “This will allow us to not only continue in partnership with our current clients as their needs grow but also to offer a state of the art, new build storage facility for new clients.”

Velocity 42 is located at the Park Farm industrial area, Redditch. The three remaining units range from 55,000 sq ft to 85,000 sq ft. Located in a key distribution area in the heart of an excellent logistics network that allows for easy access to locations across the UK, Velocity 42 is the perfect opportunity for any organisation looking to expand or consolidate its operations.

Savills and JLL acted for St Francis Group and the Richardson family. Avon Freight Group were advised by local agents John Truslove.