Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The largest of the transactions involves the fast-growing Healthcare Services Group, which is to build a new 115,000 sq ft distribution warehouse.

The Group has paid £2.632m for 8.5 acres at an average of £310,000 an acre, reports Ray Palmer of Wrenbridge Land Limited. He said building was scheduled to start almost immediately.

Progress Park is in a prime location, situated at the junction of the A421 Bedford Southern Bypass and the A6, around two miles south of Bedford Town Centre. It has excellent east-west connections via the A421 and north south road communications via the A6.

The A421 provides a direct route from Junction 13 of the M1 to the A1 and via the A14 to the east coast. The A6 runs through Bedford providing direct access to the M1 at Junction 10 and the A14.

Bedford’s mainline rail station provides regular services to London St Pancras (35 minutes) and the ThamesLink system.

Drive times are just 40 minutes from the M25, an hour from London and 90 minutes from Birmingham.

Looking internationally, London Luton Airport is just 35 minutes away, Stansted and Heathrow an hour. Most of the major sea ports are just a couple of hours or so drive away.

Infrastructure planning for Progress Park has been carefully thought through: Buildings are available to let or for sale, purpose built to occupier needs. The site is suitable for B1, B2 and B8 development.

Progress Park will provide a new 500-space park and ride facility to serve the town centre, a small ecological park and a day nursery, which has already been presold to Just Learning.

Wrenbridge Land, based in Cambridge, says it is also in advanced negotiations to prelet the remaining 50,000 sq ft warehouse unit at Progress Park at a rent of £5.75 per sq ft.

Units are available from 15,000 sq ft to 200,000 sq ft on sites from 0.59 acres to 11.35 acres. The scheme has corralled a number of East of England property specialists.

FPDSavills acted for Whitbread Trust, the original landowners. Barnes Noble Edwards and Colin Atkinson Associates introduced the site to Wrenbridge and acted in respect of the acquisition. Douglas Duff acted for Wrenbridge on the sale of the Just Learning site.

• For further information, please contact the joint sole agents, FPDSavills on 020 7499 8644 or Douglas Duff on 01234 213434.5