Works have now started at Markham Vale on the largest distribution facility that will be developed to date at this in-demand industrial and logistics park, located at J29A on the M1, Chesterfield.

The 480,000 sq.ft facility, which will be home to one of the UK’s largest third party logistics companies, Great Bear, is the largest to be developed by Henry Boot Developments in partnership with Derbyshire City Council.

Ben Ward, Director at Henry Boot Developments, said

“We are pleased that works have now commenced on this unit which we expect to be completed in summer 2016. Following the deal with Great Bear, we have agreed terms for 686,250 sq.ft of space in the past 12 months, an excellent result and shows massive confidence in the development.

We now have development plots on the Markham Vale North site available, alongside the last few remaining plots on the East and West sites.”

Glenn Lindfield, CEO of Great Bear, said

“Markham Vale was a firm choice for our company in terms of location and the potential we saw in the site. The new logistics unit will become a vital hub in our operations due to the specification. This now brings our UK unit occupation to over 5,000,000 sq.ft.

We have a huge amount of confidence in the delivery by Henry Boot based on the success of the development, and look forward to getting the unit up and running next summer.”

M&G Real Estate recently agreed a deal with Henry Boot Developments to fund the construction of the Great Bear unit in an industrial forward funding deal worth £36 million, representing a net yield of 6%.

Markham Vale is a 200 acre joint venture between Henry Boot Developments and Derbyshire City Council, and is one of the UK’s largest Enterprise Zone developments. The site is located at J29A on the M1 in Chesterfield, and is home to the likes of Andrew Page, inspirepac, Meter Provida and Gould Alloys. Ancillary users at Markham Vale West include Euro garages, Mcdonalds, Starbucks and a two storey KFC restaurant which is due to open before the end of 2015.