A logistics business has agreed a £3.5m deal to move to the first speculative development in Redditch since the 2008 recession.

Avon Freight Group has taken a ten-year lease on unit two at Acanthus Park. It will create ten jobs as a result, bringing its headcount to 70 staff.

The facility will be used to handle food products and has a capacity for about 7,000 pallets. The £3.5m investment includes the full rental span of the lease as well as fitting out costs.

Simon Poole, managing director of Avon Freight Group, said: “We feel the expansion is key to our progress as our customers’ needs grow.

“We have been receiving strong interest from potential new clients wanting to work with us, so we had to take this opportunity.”

The company is retained its recently refurbished head office on Washford Industrial Estate and will dispose of its smaller unit on Claybrook Drive. It hopes to move to the site next month once construction is complete.

Property agent John Truslove led the lease deal and is also marketing Avon Freight Group’s Claybrook Drive base.

Ian Parker, a director of John Truslove, added: “We have been saying for a long time that Redditch needs more speculative development because the demand is there. And this deal with Avon Freight Group proves it.”