Ferdinand Bilstein, automotive specialist,
motor into Markham Vale


A deal between Henry Boot Developments, Derbyshire County Council and Ferdinand Bilstein UK (FBUK), involving the development and sale of a 224,966 sq.ft distribution centre at Markham Vale, has gone unconditional.


From Left to Right: Ben Ward, Director of Henry Boot Developments; Councillor Anne Western, Leader of Derbyshire County Council; Paul Dodgson, Operations Director at Ferdinand Bilstein UK and Peter Storey, Head of Markham Vale at Derbyshire County Council.

FBUK’s new distribution facility will be located on a 14.5 acre plot at Markham Vale North and is the first building to be developed on this part of the 200 acre site.

FBUK is a family run company that originates from Ennepetal near Dusseldorf, Germany. The company is a world leader in the production, marketing and distribution of high quality parts for cars and commercial vehicles. Following their acquisition of Kent based Automotive Distributors Ltd (ADL) in 2011, FBUK will be consolidating its current operations at other UK sites into the new facility at Markham Vale, which will become the base for FBUK’s distribution network. This new centre will initially generate around 150 jobs with the potential for a further 250 jobs in the future.

FBUK has based its success on the Mittelstand SME Company model. Mittelstand companies are known to play a huge part in the success of the German economy. A Mittelstand company tends to design its business strategy around its long term aims and objectives, and invests heavily in staff and infrastructure. It is apparent from their investment at Markham Vale North that this ethos has been bought to their UK business.

Paul Dodgson, Operations Director at Ferdinand Bilstein UK, comments:

“We made the decision to move to Markham Vale as the development offers excellent transport links to the main motorway network, which was our key requirement. We also required a bespoke and high quality building to fit with the company brand and ethos, and we are confident that Henry Boot Developments can deliver this.”

Ben Ward, Director at Henry Boot Developments, adds “We are extremely pleased that a deal has been agreed with Ferdinand Bilstein UK. The company has a fantastic track record and is a world leader in the automotive parts industry

This is the first deal we have agreed on Markham Vale North, which has a further 55 acres of land available for immediate development. We also have remaining plots available on the West and East sites.”

Leader of Derbyshire County Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Policy, Economic Development and Budget, Councillor Anne Western comments:

“This is more fantastic news for Markham Vale especially following the announcement of Great Bear Distribution’s move to the site which is also set to create up to 400 new jobs.

FBUK’s move will bring more business into Derbyshire which is great for the local economy.

Markham Vale is one of the reasons why we are proud of Derbyshire and we are very pleased to see how all of the businesses are growing and developing on the site.”

Construction is due to commence on site this month with practical completion expected by the end of the year.

Markham Vale is a joint venture between Henry Boot Developments and Derbyshire County Council. For enquiries, please contact one of the leasing agents below:

Rich Harris, JLL, 0113 235 5249
James Keeton, JLL, 0115 908 2141
Franco Capella, Burbage Realty, 07834 197 403
James Harrison, Burbage Realty, 07775 905 415