Place North West | Mountpark lets 300,000 sq ft at Omega

The logistics developer has let a 308,000 sq ft distribution unit to meal box delivery company Gousto, the first deal struck for the second phase of the Warrington industrial complex. 

The deal was agreed after Gousto recorded a 70% year-on-year revenue increase in the first quarter of 2020 amid plans to triple its capacity by 2022, the company said. 

In March, Mountpark Logistics announced that it would build three speculative industrial units, totalling 735,000 sq ft, to form phase two of the logistics scheme known as Mountpark Warrington Omega, at the gateway to the wider Omega South development. 

The 308,000 sq ft unit taken by Gousto is the first to be let, with two further units, at 203,000 sq ft and 225,000 sq ft, still available. 

Construction of all three units, being carried out by McLaren Construction, is due to complete next year. 

Gousto’s unit will complete in January and the firm is scheduled to move in at the end of 2021. 

The development is part of the 575-acre mixed-use Omega scheme at Junction 8 of the M62, north of Warrington.  

Omega is being developed by a partnership between Homes England, which owns the land, and Omega Warrington, known as OWL, a joint venture between Miller Developments and KUC Properties. 

The first phase of Mountpark Warrington Omega is let to occupiers including Royal Mail, delivery firm Hermes, building supplies provider Travis Perkins and supermarket chain ASDA, as well as e-commerce firms The Hut Group and Amazon, and fast-food company Dominos. 

Timo Boldt, founder of Gousto, said: “The recent lockdown accelerated structural trends that were already firmly underway, opening up the recipe box market to a far larger audience. Now, even as lockdown eases, we’ve maintained record sales.” 

Tom Kilmister, development director of Mountpark UK & Ireland, said: “Our aim is to offer customers the best property opportunities on the market and at Mountpark Warrington Omega II we are developing high-quality units at one of the North West’s premier logistics locations.” 

CBRE and JLL acted for Mountpark and Gousto was represented by SBH. 

While office lettings have slowed due to the Covid-19 lockdown, industrial lettings in the region have reached near-record levels, according to a report from consultancy Savills. A total of 2.64m sq ft of industrial space was let in the six months to end of June 2020, Savills said.