In the second major deal at the Bolton logistics site in the last six months, coffee supplier Rijo42 has signed up for 20,300 sq ft at a headline rent of £7.25/sq ft.
The company, which supplies commercial coffee machines, coffee beans, and ingredients will take one of the units at the speculatively-developed Multiply, a 10-unit scheme currently being delivered by contractor Buckingham for developer Harworth Group.
Rijo42 will move in to the unit on a 15-year lease once it practically completes in October 2018. Other units at Multiply set to be delivered this year range between 149,200 sq ft and 18,000 sq ft.
The first phase of Multiply completed earlier this year; this featured units of 63,000 sq ft; 56,000 sq ft; and 44,800 sq ft. The smallest of these was taken by landscape material supplier Hardscape Products on a 15-year lease in April this year, as first revealed by Place North West.
B8 Real Estate and JLL acted as joint agents for Harworth.
Ian Ball, executive director of income generation at Harworth, said: “This is another excellent deal for Multiply Logistics North, marking the start of what we believe will be a fruitful long-term partnership in generating returns for Lancashire County Pension Fund and Harworth Group.
“Securing an early pre-let shows that demand from the North West’s SMEs remains very strong and we are now keen to maintain this momentum as the remainder of the Multiply Logistics North is developed out over the next eighteen months.”
Sean Griffin, director of Rijo42, added: Relocating to this impressive new development is perfect for us, especially through this period of rapid expansion and growth. The decision to move was simple; the site perfectly reflects our key vision to remain the largest independent coffee company in the UK and supports our long term eco-strategy.
“Our new state-of-the-art facility will enable us to deliver unparalleled first class customer service and provide our well-established team with a truly unique and inspiring place to work. The proposed development expansion will bring further career opportunities to the community and has the potential to be replicated in the South of England in the future, which is incredibly exciting”
The deals follow two 10-year lettings at R-evolution, which was also speculatively developed at Logistics North. Earlier this year Northern Building Plastics and cleaning machines supplier Vaclensa agreed to take the C4 and C5 units, which together account for a combined 52,900 sq ft, at a rent of £7/sq ft.
Other occupiers at the site include Aldi, Amazon, Lidl, MBDA, Komatsu, Costa and Greene King. More than 2m sq ft of commercial space has been built out at the development since it received outline planning consent in December 2013, with over 1,500 people employed on site.