Panattoni and Europa Capital rev up 630,000 sq ft prelet for automotive group

Panattoni and Europa Capital have secured a 630,000 sq ft prelet at Panattoni Park Rotherham to Alliance Automotive Group. Ferrari Piston Services, a subsidiary of AAG, which is a distributor of passenger and commercial vehicle parts with brands such as NAPA, Bosch, Apec and FPS, has signed a 25-year lease for the facility. It is expected to begin its move into the property next summer with operations commencing in 2025. The 40-acre Panattoni Park Rotherham is expected to be one of the largest speculative logistics buildings in the north of England when it completes, expected in August 2023. On the back of the latest deal, the site is 89% pre-let. Construction of the facility, along with a smaller 80,000 sq ft unit, has just begun. They will be built to a minimum BREEAM Very Good and EPC A ratings. It is located next to junction 1 of the M18 at Rotherham, bridging the last mile for delivery to 1.4m consumers in the Sheffield city region. Europa Capital secured the occupier on behalf of its value-add fund, Europa Fund VI. Europa Capital managing director and value-add fund manager Rachel Hanke said: “Despite current headwinds, securing a pre-let with a tenant such as AAG at an early stage of construction is a testament to the resolve of the asset management team and strength of the fundamentals in the sector, especially for high-quality assets such as the Rotherham logistics park. “We continue to experience a good level of occupier interest in the remaining unit and are focused on letting up this space.” Europa Capital asset manager James Keast said: “The signing of this lease is a huge milestone for our development in Rotherham. Our park offers a unique opportunity to lease a large site in a prime logistics location which has a fundamental lack of supply.” Panattoni head of development, North West & Yorkshire, Dan Burn said: “This major pre-let to AAG endorses our continuing commitment to a significant speculative development programme across the UK and our continued confidence in the logistics sector.” M1 Agency, Legat Owen and Knight Frank acted as letting agents for the deal. To send feedback, e-mail pui-guan.man@eg.co.uk or tweet @PuiGuanM or @EGPropertyNews See more letting deals in Yorkshire and the Humber>> Picture © Panattoni/Tavistock