Logistics firm Avon Freight Group has announced a £3.5 million expansion in Redditch in a deal brokered by local property agents John Truslove.
The firm has agreed a ten-year lease on the 50,000 sq ft Unit 2, Acanthus Park, the town’s first speculative Grade A industrial unit to be built since the 2008 recession.
Managing director Simon Poole said the move would create ten new jobs – the firm currently employs around 70 staff.
The facility will be used to handle food products and is capable of storing 7,000 pallets.
“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,” said Mr Poole.
Avon Freight Group is retaining its recently refurbished head office at 80,000 sq ft Unit 29 Heming Road, Washford Industrial Estate, but disposing of a smaller 20,000 sq ft unit at Heming Point, Claybrook Drive, currently being marketed by John Truslove, with an asking price of £1.9 million.
“We were originally looking for one large 150,000 sq ft building but in the end decided not to go down that route,” said Mr Poole. “That was due primarily to the length of building time, planning permission issues, and Brexit which raised the risk factor.
“Acanthus Park was under construction, it met our timescale and was only about a mile from our main base. It gave us the room to carry out our expansion plans, so we went for it.”
The £3.5 million investment represents the full rental span of the contract, with fitting out costs on top.
The £10 million turnover firm hopes to move in early next month once construction is complete.
Ian Parker, a director of John Truslove, joint agents on Acanthus Park with Jones Lang LaSalle and Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “We have been saying for a long time that Redditch needs more speculative development because the demand is there.
