Oakland International first in at Konect62
Henderson Park and Cole Waterhouse’s development at the former Kellingley Colliery has its maiden tenant, with logistics firm Oakland taking 162,000 sq ft.
Oakland International has agreed a 15-year lease at Konect62, which is being delivered on a 136-acre site, accessible from two junctions of the M62 to the east of Wakefield.
The first phase of Konect62 has been speculatively built to provide 375,000 sq ft. of logistics and industrial space with an additional 30-acre serviced plot.
Oakland is focused on food and beverage logistics, and will serve the UK and Irish markets from its new facility. The company has leased logistics and office space at Konect62 in a move that expands its multi-temperature supply chain network.
Chief executive of Oakland’s contract logistics division, Shaun Foley, said: “Needing more space due to increasing customer demand, and having investigated several sites, Konect 62 at Knottingley was identified as the ideal location to support our client base and further increasing our geographical footprint in the UK market.”
Christophe Kuhbier, head of investments, Europe, at Henderson Park, said: “The scale and quality of our debut letting at Konect62 is testament to the site’s strategic location, which is optimally placed to deliver much needed capacity into the Yorkshire market, as well as the facility’s high sustainability and technical specifications, which meet the requirements of the most sophisticated logistics operators.
“We are confident that the wider scheme will appeal to a range of occupiers for the same reasons, with the benefit of being able to offer flexible units of varying sizes.”
Cole Waterhouse managing director David Nuttall said “we have only just started,” predicting that momentum will grow as the JV looks to deliver up to 1.9m sq ft.
Two more units comprising 151,000 sq ft and 61,000 sq ft are available to let immediately as part of phase one. A further 735,000 sq ft unit, known as ‘Big K’, could be ready to occupy in as little as 40 weeks, concluding the 1.1m sq ft initial phase.
Planning for phase two is due for determination, which would mean a further 802,000 sq ft.
Savills, DTRE and Sixteen Real Estate are joint letting agents for Konect62. Oakland was represented by Clews and Co.
