Panattoni, the largest logistics real estate developer across the UK and Europe, has passed the major landmark of £350 million through three significant acquisitions this year.

The first quarter saw Panattoni acquire a prime west London redevelopment site near Heathrow Airport where an 80,000 sq ft unit will be delivered for Q3 2024; the site is called Panattoni Poyle. The start of the third quarter saw the acquisition of a site to deliver 800,000 sq ft in Milton Keynes, where the business will construct two speculative units of 350,000 sq ft and 450,000 sq ft. The end of the third quarter sees the acquisition of a two unit park totalling 626,468 sq ft in Sittingbourne, strategically located to the Southeast of London 4 miles from junction 5 of the M2.

The 26-acre site, acquired from Abrdn, will be developed as a state-of-the-art, net zero carbon development. This prime location offers unparalleled access to local and national distribution routes facilitated by the M2, M20, and M25 motorways. The development will provide seamless connectivity to vital markets such as London, the Southeast, and Europe via London Thamesport, Dover, and the Port of Tilbury.

The site has planning consent for two distinct units, spanning 439,228 sq ft and 205,320 sq ft, respectively which will be speculatively developed.  Construction is due to commence at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, with a targeted completion date in the fourth quarter of 2024. A key advantage and differentiator of Panattoni Park Sittingbourne are its enhanced environmental, social, and governance (ESG) features; the site has 5MVa of power available with a further capacity of additional 1.35MVa from the solar PV provided as part of the base specification by Panattoni. Furthermore, Panattoni will engineer the construction to achieve a BREEAM sustainability rating of ‘Excellent’ and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of ‘A’.

Panattoni’s acquisition at Sittingbourne follows its success at the nearby 1.6 million sq ft Panattoni Park Aylesford; the level of demand in the region has  resulted in the scheme being  100% pre-let to major national and international occupiers in less than 24 months from acquisition

Tony Watkins, Head of Development for the South East and London at Panattoni, said, “This third acquisition in the South in 2023 confirms our success in delivering on a strategy to acquire land that provides value to investors and customers in the current commercial environment. We will continue to selectively purchase key developments that offer value-add opportunities within core markets in London and the South East, where we can drive rental growth”.

Finally, he said “we expect to be announcing more acquisitions this quarter”.

Panattoni were advised by JLL, Abrdn were advised by Avison Young and Savills