Caddick Construction will build the 125,000 sq ft building at Hooton Park, the first phase of the Aviator project that will also see a further 325,000 sq ft of space built. Tony McDonough reports
Work has started on a speculative industrial development in Ellesmere Port after Liverpool developer Redsun secured almost £7m public sector support funding.
Caddick Construction will build the 125,000 sq ft building, the first phase of the Aviator project that will also see a further 325,000 sq ft of space built. The first phase is due for completion in January 2020.
Planning consent for both buildings was secured in July 2018 and work can now go ahead after The North West Evergreen Fund, a partnership of 16 local authorities, provided a £5m development loan.
Cheshire & Warrington LEP has also provided a further £1.7m towards the scheme via the Cheshire Science Corridor Enterprise Zone.
Ellesmere Port is a well-established industrial location and the area has undergone extensive development over the past 10-15 years. Other occupiers in the area include Vauxhall Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Prowell and Johnson Controls.
Redsun director Nick Wightman said: “There is a distinct lack of good quality industrial buildings in this part of the region. Our site is a two-minute drive from the motorway network and has Enterprise Zone status, meaning occupiers can benefit from very attractive capital allowances against their fit-out and machinery costs.
“This is the right time to bring this product to the market and we expect there to be strong occupier interest.”
Knight Frank and Legat Owen have been appointed as leasing agents on the new development. The design team is made up of Quartz Projects Services, Fletcher Rae Architects, Muir Associates and Crookes Walker Consulting.
Will Church, senior director, investment advisory at CBRE, which manages the Evergreen Fund, added: “Despite underlying concerns relating to the economy, we are seeing more applications to the Evergreen Fund than ever before with developers still showing appetite to invest into good schemes.
“The delivery of this scheme will create jobs and important industrial space in a market where speculative development finance remains scarce.”