Major defence supplier, MBDA has acquired a site for the development of a new 100,000 sq ft facility combining high-quality manufacturing space with offices.
Expected to relocate from its current base at Lostock, Bolton to the new facility in 2016, MBDA will join supermarket group Aldi as the second occupier of the Logistics North Industrial development, also in Bolton.
Bernard Waldron, director of manufacturing for MBDA UK, commented: “The acquisition of the site is a major step in our plans and we can now move on to the next stage of preparing the ground works in this important and exciting development for MBDA and its employees.”
He added: “This new site is reinforcing both our foundation in the Bolton local economy and community, and the future of our manufacturing capability.”
Logistics North was granted outline planning consent in December 2013 for 4m sq ft of distribution and manufacturing space, the largest industrial site with live planning consent in the North West, according to a recent survey undertaken by Planning Resource.
It has also been independently estimated (by Ekosgen) that the development will add upwards of £335m to the North West’s economy and accommodate up to 7,300 new jobs once it has been built out.
Facilitating the development is property regeneration company, Harworth Estates. Its executive director, Phil Wilson, noted that the deals with both MBDA and Aldi reflected the “strength of demand for high-quality industrial space in the north west.”
“Logistics North is one of the North West’s most significant new developments and with the start of construction now underway we look forward to attracting more high-calibre occupiers to the site,” Wilson added.
Bolton Council’s Executive Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Resources, Cllr Ebrahim Adia, declared: “This is great news for Bolton because we’ve retained a key employer in the town and importantly, they have the potential to grow.
“Logistics North is a site of huge importance for Bolton in terms of our Economic Strategy and it will also make a significant contribution to the success of the North West’s economy.”
Construction of both Aldi’s unit has already commenced with MBDA’s to shortly follow; you can follow the progress of the build here.
