Alder King - Industrial Letting - Somerset, Express Park Business Park
Date: 19 May 2006
With the last remaining industrial unit now completing for Gerber Foods Soft Drinks, the Express Park Development Company is already heralding the business park as a major success and intrinsic in raising the status of Bridgwater as a successful commercial location, according to property consultants Alder King.
The 105 acre development, which now provides the largest single addition to industrial stock in the whole of the South West, has supplied over 1.5m sq ft of accommodation over the last 5 years alone. The latest letting will see Gerber complete the final phase in the expansion of its state of the art production facility and warehouse for its wide range of juice products, which now totals some 750,000 sq ft.
With its close proximity to the A38 and junction 23 of the M5 motorway and excellent on-site amenities, the business park has already attracted a number of quality occupiers. Exel, a supply service for all NHS organisations within the South West peninsula, currently occupies 165,000 sq ft, mail order tool and DIY suppliers Tool Station has taken a 65,000 sq ft unit and Interpet, the national leader in the supply of pet food and pond products, are located within a 99,000 sq ft unit.
According to Geoff Revell, Development Director of the Express Park Development Company, the success of the development highlights the strategic importance of Bridgwater for companies seeking to relocate away from the region's traditional development areas of Bristol and Exeter where land supply, the availability of labour and values are often preclusive. He said:
"The majority of occupiers within Express Park have come from a local base and have used the development as an opportunity for expansion and the introduction of new production methods. This has not only safeguarded local jobs, but has also substantially increased job availability at a time when Bridgwater has experienced a lot of publicity surrounding the closure of some established local businesses.
"We are proud to have enabled so many businesses to grow and develop and we have already identified significant further demand. However this can only be satisfied if more land for employment is released in the Bridgwater area - it would be a great shame to lose the momentum that has been created at Express Park and the great strides that have been made in placing Bridgwater on the commercial map."
Alder King has acted as the sole agent on behalf of Express Park Development Company throughout the industrial land phases.
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