GLP, the global owner, developer and operator of logistics real estate, data centres, renewable energy and related technologies, has signed sports retail giant Nike on a 20-year lease agreement for an 1.3 million-square-foot UK logistics campus and national supply chain hub at Magna Park Corby.
The logistics warehousing, offices, sport and recreation facilities will be housed in one building, targeting a BREEAM Outstanding rating and net zero carbon in construction. The building will be US retailer Nike's first standalone logistics campus in the UK with the group scouring sites in the East Midlands in recent months for its Project "The Terrace" search.
Legal & General will be the strategic partner on the project to deliver what the partners say will be a best-in-class sustainable flagship campus. Legal & General previously acted as strategic partner for the delivery of Waitrose’s first national distribution centre at Magna Park in Milton Keynes in 2014.
Prioritising sport and wellbeing, the facility will also have a range of external features including running tracks, open-air gyms, multi-use game areas and recreation areas.
Magna Park Corby will have an exercise route of 5.76 km, a 2 km nature trail, and 3.7km of other footpaths. The campus will provide access to protected woodlands, with designated cycle and walking routes that the partners said will be fundamental to attracting and retaining talent.
Bruce Topley, UK managing director at GLP, said in a statement: “This new site will help boost skills and generate high-quality jobs. The industry-leading, bespoke building will minimise carbon footprint and embed health and wellbeing. This investment is a great vote of confidence in the East Midlands and will help propel much-needed long-term growth across the region."
Neil Dovey, head of annuity transactions, Legal & General, added: "Nike's UK Logistics Campus in Magna Park Corby is ideally aligned with Legal & General's commitment to investing long-term capital into assets that are economically and socially beneficial. We are delighted to be working with GLP, a developer aligned with our principles, to deliver a first-class building, and are looking forward to partnering with Nike as a long-term property owner following completion."
Magna Park Corby is one of the UK’s largest dedicated logistics and distribution parks.
The prelet means second quarter industrial take-up in the UK is on course to look strong, after US ecommerce giant Amazon earlier this week confirmed that it will build a £500 million fulfilment centre at Segro's flagship Northampton site.
CoStar News revealed at the beginning of the year that Amazon was returning to UK big-box logistics acquisitions in a big way after striking a deal for a large chunk of the Segro Logistics Park Northampton development.
According to DTRE's quarterly Big Box Report there has been a "sluggish start" to take-up in 2024. The 5.6 million square feet transacted in the first three months is the "slowest start to a year since 2019" and down 19% quarter-on-quarter.
DTRE put muted lettings down to a "number of macro-economic factors", in addition to "transaction friction". It said legal and ESG due diligence processes were the main contributors to the latter, with parties observing more caution over deals.
A total of 22 deals were signed across the first three months of the year, with units between 100,000 square feet and 300,000 square feet proving the most popular, accounting for 77% of take up.
But DTRE reports rental growth remains strong and said it was tracking 7.6 million square feet of logistics units that are under offer. It said that should lettings for all those units complete by the end of June, take-up for the half-year would be "10% ahead of the 'pre-COVID average' from 2007 to 2019".
Savills and M1 are the agents for the scheme and TSL are the main contractors. Savills advised Nike.