IM Properties looks to secure new UK global parts logistics centre for JLR

Published by

Nicky Godding

IM Properties is working with Jaguar Land Rover to create a new global aftermarket parts distribution centre for the automotive company.

The proposed new 2.94 million sq ft campus at junction 11, M42, would supply around 80 markets worldwide and meet Jaguar Land Rover’s long term business needs for parts distribution throughout the UK and Western Hemisphere. It is anticipated that the new facility will provide a significant number of jobs and the employment will grow in line with the business needs.

Planning proposals have been submitted to North West Leicestershire District Council (NWLDC) for five units, designed to consolidate existing facilities and improve efficiency for the flow of parts.

If approved, the Jaguar Land Rover distribution campus will sit within a wider development which seeks to help address the quantitative and qualitative industrial and logistics need of the M42 corridor.

IMP acquired the land at Appleby Magna in 2016 and identified the opportunity to bring forward the 238-acre site as part of its long-term strategy for delivering high quality, large scale employment parks, attractive to major national and international companies.

The application is to be considered by NWLDC Planning Committee on September 3. It is anticipated that the development of the site of would start Q2, 2020, with the first unit completing May 2021. Jaguar Land Rover would begin transferring operations to the new facility in early 2022 with full completion by early 2023.

Kevin Ashfield, UK Development Director at IMP said: “We have been in discussions with Jaguar Land Rover, North West Leicestershire District Council, Leicestershire County Council and local stakeholders for some time.

“There are very few sites in the UK which could deliver this scale of development in the right location for Jaguar Land Rover.

“We believe the proposed planning application puts forward a high-quality, sustainable scheme will have huge economic benefits for the local area and retain an important element of the Jaguar Land Rover business in the region.”

Junction 11 is one of several large-scale strategic sites IMP has acquired for potential occupiers, capable of delivering more than 15 million sq ft of logistics space, primarily in the Midlands.

Other sites include Peddimore, one of the UK’s most significant new manufacturing and logistics locations, which is soon to launch 1.38 million sq ft of employment space after securing planning approval earlier this month.

Kevin continued: “We have an excellent land supply and a long-established reputation for delivering best-in-class schemes, with the financial backing and agility as a private property company to move on sites when the opportunities present themselves.

“The M42 corridor is a key investment area for the business, with another 140-acres under our control at junction 9. This adds to our existing portfolio on the M42 including Birch Coppice, Blythe Valley Park and Fore Business Park, where our new £30m state-of-the-art headquarters are based.

“We’re naturally extremely pleased to be bringing this opportunity forward in the Midlands, working with such a prestigious company as Jaguar Land Rover and retaining jobs in the region, contributing towards its long-term economic growth.”

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.