Opus Land - Industrial Development - Stockton, £2.3 Million Refurb Underway At Ex-MFI Factory

Date: 26 Jun 2007

Work has started on a £2.3million refurbishment of the former MFI factory site on Teesside.

Yorkshire-based developers Opus Land have renamed the 360,000 sq ft site Opus Park and are transforming it into a modern, industrial/warehouse complex with unit sizes ranging from 13,900 sq ft to 77,800 sq ft.

Opus Park is situated in the heart of Stockton's Preston Farm Industrial Estate and is expected to be ready for occupation in October.

Opus Land, one of the fastest-growing development and investment companies in the country, bought the 16.5-acre site adjacent to the A66 in September last year after MFI announced that it was to close its Stockton factory.

Director Andrew Duncan said: "We are delighted that work is now underway. We are spending £2.3 million on Opus Park, creating 11 high-spec, high-quality units for lease or sale - individually or in multiples to suite occupiers - as well as re-cladding and generally refurbishing the site. This will transform the old MFI factory into a modern industrial and warehousing complex for the 21st century".

Opus Park is one of the largest available manufacturing sites in the North-East this year and Opus Land is confident the site will prove extremely popular.

Mr Duncan said: "We are in discussions with a number of potential occupiers ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 sq ft right up to 150,000 sq ft."

Jonathan Simpson, industrial agent at Sanderson Weatherall's Teesside office, said: "Buildings of this size, nature and prominence very rarely become available in the Teesside area, particularly offering occupiers the chance to purchase.

"We expect demand to come from not only warehousing companies but also manufacturers looking to take advantage of the unique 5,000 KVA power supply," he added.

Opus Land is also turning the old 450,000 sq ft MFI store at Scunthorpe into a massive, state-of-the-art single distribution unit called Opus Maximus. It will be available for sale or lease.

Owen Holder, of property agents Knight Frank in Leeds, commented: "Opus Maximus is situated in Scunthorpe which sits on the motorway network between the hugely successful East Coast ports of Immingham and Grimsby and the major cities of Yorkshire".

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