Construction of two new major industrial parks in the Coventry area is underway

A £9.7m cash boost has been arranged for two major new industrial parks in Coventry and Warwickshire. The loan is from Warwickshire County Council’s Enterprise Property Investment Fund (PIF), managed by global property adviser, CBRE.

Warwickshire Connect Ltd, a subsidiary of The Wigley Group, has started construction to transform a 1.88 acre brownfield site on Endemere Road, Coventry. The project will deliver a purpose-built commercial hub after receiving full planning permission in 2023.

Warwickshire Connect Endemere will offer 20 units for sale, ranging in size from 1,000 to 3,000 sq ft, to help meet growing demand for retail space and benefit local small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs). Construction is expected to take 12 months, with the first units available for occupancy by the summer of 2025.

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This is the first loan from PIF, the real estate arm of the Warwickshire Investment Fund (WIF) which supports the provision of sites and spaces designed to help drive the growth of Warwickshire’s local economy. The PIF is managed by CBRE’s lending team.

The loan will also support a second development on the Warwickshire border on Rowley Drive, close to the UK Battery Industrialization Center and the new Coventry & Warwick Giga Park.

James Davies, Chief Executive Officer at Wigley, said: “We are incredibly excited to start construction and launch this development. This well-connected location will serve a strong demand for commercial space, in turn supporting Coventry and Warwickshire’s rapidly growing economy.

“We received a healthy number of inquiries from potential tenants when the plans were first approved and that interest has remained consistent.”

Wigley, based in Stockton, near Southam, worked with Warwickshire County Council and global property advisers CBRE to finance the project.

Councilor Martin Watson, portfolio holder for the economy, said: “I am delighted to see the PIF being used to really support our businesses to grow. The lack of availability of slightly smaller industrial space is a real barrier to the growth of smaller businesses.

“Making these types of units available will create opportunities for smaller businesses to have premises they can afford so that businesses of all sizes can benefit from and contribute to the growth of the region. The economy in Coventry and Warwickshire has performed well in recent years. , and this often meant that there was a lack of affordable smaller light industrial units of the type used by SMEs.

“The city and county economies are closely linked, particularly around manufacturing supply chains, so the new facilities will benefit the business base across the area.”

Tom Bromwich, founding partner of Bromwich Hardy, who has been instructed to market the units, said: “We are delighted to be working with our clients at Wigley Group again. The fact that these new commercial units will be available to buy makes them particularly attractive to small and medium-sized business owners, as there is a real shortage of quality commercial premises available to buy.”

George Richards, senior director at CBRE, said: “Warwickshire County Council’s Property and Infrastructure Fund has been established to support much-needed local development, boosting the local economy and creating employment opportunities. We are delighted to have advised Warwickshire County Council on this first PIF launch loan and are now very excited to see Warwickshire Connect’s progress in terms of development over the coming year.”

Aimed at small businesses, the Warwickshire Connect Endemere scheme will provide sustainable and modern industrial units with office and warehouse space, along with 72 parking spaces. It is close to the A444 with easy access to the M6 ​​and M69.

Established in 1964, Wigley Group is an ISO 45001 and 9001 certified company active in the acquisition, development and construction of real estate, managing portfolios of assets both in its own ownership and on behalf of commercial partners. The Real Estate Investment Fund is part of the County Council’s wide range of business support services and programmes. To find out more about this and other schemes visit www.warwickshire.gov.uk/businesssupport.

CBRE, Wigley Group and Warwickshire County Council will be attending UKREiiF 2024 (UK Retail Estate and Infrastructure Investment Forum) in Leeds from 21-23 May to promote this and wider development in the county, such as and PIF. fund.

For more information on unit availability at the new developments, visit the Bromwich Hardy website at https://www.bromwichhardy.com/