Winvic Construction has been appointed to design and build the first industrial facility at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton for end user Yusen Logistics.

Winvic, SEGRO and Yusen Logistics celebrated the start of the 1.2 million sq ft project with a Japanese Kagami Biraki ceremony.

The Kagami Biraki ceremony – or saki barrel breaking ceremony – is to bestow wishes for success and prosperity upon the new development; representatives from SEGRO and Yusen Logistics each hit the lid of a sake barrel with mallets and ladled out the sake into sake cups for the guests to enjoy. The ground was then officially broken, and attendees were given a guided tour of SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton.

The unit comprises 1,144,000 sq ft ground floor warehouse space and a 333,251 sq ft mezzanine; Winvic will also construct and fit out the 35,810 sq ft three-storey main office, which also has a roof terrace, and a single-storey hub office. It is designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating which will reduce carbon to net zero during the construction. An array of PV panels will be installed across the entire roof space of the warehouse and EV charging units will also be made available onsite to power Yusen Logistics UK’s all electric company car fleet.

At almost 1.2 million sq ft, the single storey warehouse will be Yusen Logistics’ largest global facility when completed in March 2025. The facility sits immediately adjacent to the 35-acre Strategic Rail Freight Terminal constructed by Winvic, enabling Yusen Logistics to provide their customers with rail freight solutions providing CO2 savings on inbound transport.

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The facility has a haunch of 18 metres, 85 HGV docks and 10 HGV level access doors. Externally, Winvic will undertake all hardstandings and landscaping for the scheme including parking for 924 cars, 163 HGVs, 230 cycles and 34 motorcycles; of these, 185 will be for electric vehicles. The warehouse will also have its own security gatehouse, fuel island and lorry wash, a pallet storage area and waste/recycling area.

Winvic has been on site at the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) in Northampton since January 2021 undertaking enabling earthworks, creating the infrastructure to prepare the site for the 5 million sq ft of warehousing and logistics space and constructing the 35-acre Strategic Rail Freight Interchange (SRFI). Winvic has also delivered major upgrades to Junctions 15 and 15a on the M1, the construction of a bypass around Roade village and a new bridge over the West Coast Mainline, and improvements to the A45 and safer junctions along the A508.

Danny Nelson, Winvic's Head of Industrial, Distribution and Logistics, commented: "We are delighted to have been selected by SEGRO to construct the first industrial facility at SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton. When it’s completed, we'll have worked on the site for a total of four years, so I’d like to thank the SEGRO team for continuing to put their trust in us, as they did when creating SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway.

"Winvic previously constructed a facility in nearby Wellingborough for Yusen Logistics as the tenant, so we’re looking forward to working with them again and to illustrating our high standards. I have the utmost confidence in our experienced team to deliver the project safely and on time."

Dan Holford, Head of National Markets at SEGRO, said: "We are incredibly proud to have attracted a world class warehouse and distribution operator like Yusen Logistics to SEGRO Logistics Park Northampton as the development’s first pre-let customer, where we will be working together to deliver 1.2 million sq ft of highly sustainable space.

"What makes this development truly special is how it will support customers to achieve their sustainability goals and net-zero ambitions, particularly through the delivery of sustainable buildings, a country park and the strategic rail freight terminal. Yusen Logistics’ decision to locate here is testament to this and we look forward to continuing our partnership with this exciting project."