Food supplier Brakes Group has pre-let a 207,000 sq ft chilled warehouse at Standard Life Investment’s Suttons Business Park in Reading, Berkshire.
The deal has been secured off a 25-year lease at an undisclosed rent. Lambert Smith Hampton acted jointly with Haslams, and Brakes Group was represented by Gerald Eve.
The chilled warehouse will be built on the site made available by the demolition of the old Suttons Seeds building, more recently the home of Jacobs Engineering.
Harriet Rodgers, spokeswoman for Brakes, said: “The new building will be a state-of-the-art storage and multi-temperature delivery hub. Approximately 500 people will be employed at the new depot, with the majority of the team working in the warehouse or delivering to customers.”
Philip Hunter, of Lambert Smith Hampton, said: “Securing the deal on a pre-let basis is an indication of the lack of available units above 200,000 sq ft in the Thames Valley, and indeed nationally. For large industrial occupiers, this shortage poses a very real challenge when it comes to acquiring new premises.”
Planning for the new scheme was recently granted, and development commenced on 22nd August 2011. Completion is anticipated for the end of March 2012.
Tesco is currently seeking planning permission for a major RDC in Reading.
