The Konect62 Distribution Park, a 136-acre site accessible from two junctions of the M62 to the east of Wakefield in Yorkshire, is being developed by Henderson Park and Cole Waterhouse at the former Kellingley Colliery. It has already secured its maiden tenant, with logistics firm Oakland International having taken more than 15,000 square metres of space with a 15-year lease.
Konect62 Distribution Park has been selected by a panel of local industry professionals to be a winner of the CoStar Impact Awards Lease of the Year for Yorkshire and Humberside.
Oakland is focused on food-and-beverage logistics and intends to serve the UK and Irish markets from the facility.
Known to its employees as the Big K, Kellingley Colliery was a UK Coal-owned mine that started coal production in 1965 and closed in 2015. Its closure marked the end of deep mining coal production in the UK. At its height, it employed approximately 2,000 people, but when it closed, that number had dropped to approximately 450.
About the project:
The company has leased logistics and office space at Konect62 in a move that expands its multi-temperature supply-chain network. The site’s strategic location is placed to deliver much-needed capacity into the Yorkshire market, and the facility’s high sustainability and technical specifications is perfect for the requirements of logistics operators.
What the judges said:
Adam Varley, development director, Scarborough Group International, said: “Marking the start of a new [industrial and logistics] destination, the letting to Oakland endorses the decision of Henderson Park and Cole Warehouse’s development to advance their development plans at Konect62 and provide much-needed space in a market constrained with limited supply and issues around viability from a development perspective."
Stuart Howie, managing director, Leeds, Avison Young, added: “The letting of Oakland at Konect was one of the largest industrial lettings of 2024. The unit taken was one of three developed speculatively as the first phase of the scheme and has helped establish this new development. The developer and funder demonstrated confidence in their product by building out [more than] 350,000 square feet on this basis and have been rewarded by this deal and a further letting on a second unit."
They made it happen:
Matthew Ewin, associate director, Savills; Tom Asher, director, Savills; Andrew Lynn, Partner, Jack Weatherilt, senior surveyor and Robert Kos, associate partner at Dowley Turner Real Estate; Andy Backhouse, director, Sixteen Real Estate; Cameron Forysth, surveyor, Sixteen Real Estate; David Clews, director, Clews & Co; Robert Titterton, development manager, Cole Waterhouse.