Developer EQT Exeter submits planning application for £75m 442,000 sq ft logistics facility in Liverpool city region. Tony McDonough reports

EQT Exeter has submitted a planning application to Knowsley Council to build a 442,000 sq ft logistics facility in Kirkby.

Designed by UMC Architects, the proposed £75m warehouse would replace an existing building on Deacon Park. Located on Moorgate Road North the existing site has been home to multiple businesses.

Plans for the new development were first unveiled by EQT Exeter, which acquired the property in 2021, in November 2022. The company reported at that time that a “significant proportion” of the building was already vacant.

It is now engaging with the remaining tenants to agree on a “phased exit”. Gerald Eve acting as planning consultant. DTRE and CBRE are joint letting agents for the scheme.

Elsewhere in Knowsley, EQT Exeter is bringing forward a 120,000 sq ft unit at Imagination, which is due to reach practical completion in the first quarter of 2023.

And, in a separate project, the firm is working with Liberty Properties on the development of a 200,000 sq ft facility in Widnes which is due to finish this July.

In February LBN reported that demand for grade A industrial and distribution space was outstripping supply across the North West. This is set to intensify following the launch of the LCR Freeport.

According to the latest Big Shed Briefing by property firm Savills, demand is set to outstrip supply with low levels of good quality space. It reports a three year average annual take-up of 6.61m sq ft in 2022. This equates to just six months worth of supply.

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Paul Chatterjee, director of development and leasing at EQT Exeter, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to bring a building of this size to the market. 

“There still remains a lack of supply in the North West industrial property market and we’re seeing high occupier demand for our existing buildings across the region.”