ID Logistics triples UK space
International contract logistics group ID Logistics has tripled the space it operates in the Uk by taking on GXO’s former warehouse in Northampton.
By Liza Helps Property Editor Logistics Matters
ID LOGISTICS has signed a 10 year lease for Prologis’ DC7 unit at Prologis Grange Park. The 342,622 ft2 unit benefits from a an additional 389,319 ft2 mezzanine bringing the total amount of space available to some 732,000 ft2.
ID Logistics is relatively new to the UK only establishing itself here in June 2023 to service a multi-year returns contract for an international fast fashion retailer identified as Zara.
In its press release last year announcing its launch in the UK, ID Logistics said that that the company was chosen by a ‘big worldwide fast fashion group’ to guarantee smooth and efficient management of returns, thus meeting the customer's expectations in terms of quality of service. This new contract extends the partnership [between the worldwide fast fashion group and ID Logistics] already achieved in Poland through the Polish company Spedimex, which had been acquired by the ID Logistics Group.
“The circa 200,000 ft2 [18,000 m2] site, which began operations in June 2023, will employ more than 300 employees. Its activity only concerns the return flows of e-commerce and B2B orders, with a key issue of responsiveness. The products, subject to fashion trends, are processed in a very short time in order to be quickly put back on the market.”
The company worked out of a 193,750 ft2 facility in Brackmills. This property known as Brackmills 200 will shortly be refurbished by owners EQT Exeter and marketed to let suggesting ID Logistics is consolidating into the new acquisition.
The new lease for DC7 incorporates key items of internal fitout for ID Logistics including racking and LED lighting, ensuring the company is able to start operations quickly.
It is thought that the contract which brought the company to the UK last year will be serviced from the new facility.
In ID Logistics annual report and accounts in April this year the company announced that it would soon be opening ‘a new 500,000 ft2 plus [50,000 m2] site in the UK for a global fashion leader’. It is as yet unclear if this is the facility in question or whether there is yet another site under discussion.
The deal seems to have been finessed by Prologis in such a way that the DC7 warehouse never formally came to the market. The unit was originally specifically acquired in a pre-let deal by Clipper Logistics in 2015 to service online orders for Zara and the contract continued when GXO acquired Clipper Logistics for $1.3 billion in May 2022.
The move was aimed at helping Inditex reach its stated aim of reducing emissions by more than 50% by 2030. The new building was built net zero carbon in construction to achieve BREEAM Excellent and an EPC A rating. It comprises 607,068 ft2 of warehouse space with a 9,613 ft2 office as well as a further 11,992 ft2 two storey hub office and gatehouse and has 18m eaves, 92 dock and nine level access doors 204 HGV and 485 car parking spaces.
It is thought that the GXO lease on DC7 would expire in 2025, however, with ID Logistics looking to secure more space and GXO looking to consolidate to RFI Daventry an elegant solution has been found.
ID Logistics is already a key partner to Prologis, with close to 3 million ft2 leased in Europe (UK, France, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands) and South America (Brazil).
