Waste management group Grundon is to create a new regional centre for the West of England after buying a large industrial building in Avonmouth alongside its existing operations in the area.
The family-run business has taken over the long leasehold of the 186,000 sq ft property at the Access 18 industrial development on Avonmouth Way. 
The acquisition unifies the firm’s existing holdings in Avonmouth into a single, ring-fenced, 13-acre waste, energy and recycling estate.
The site was built for New Earth on the site of the former Britannia Zinc smelting works. New Earth operated it as a mechanical & biological treatment facility for sorting, recycling and composting household black bag waste on behalf of local authorities, including Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset.
Grundon estates director Philip Atkinson said: “Importantly for us, it offers us the space to develop new service offerings and incubate our early-stage technologies and processes.”
The site was sold on behalf of New Earth (West) by strategic real estate adviser Avison Young.
Avison Young Bristol director Paul Hobbs, who secured the sale, added: “Built in 2010 to both recycle and to create energy from waste, this unique project site is a local landmark. 
“The closure and availability of the building reflected a fast-changing picture in the South West where waste-to-energy facilities have massively increased in size and potential throughput.
“Two recently built facilities in Avonmouth now produce up to 68MW of power (serving up to 100,000 homes) against the original 11MW capability of this site.”
The site is close to Junction 18 of the M5, allowing Grundon to continue its strategic growth in the region.
Paul Hobbs said the deal showed that there appeared to be no slow-down in the demand for well-located industrial premises in and around Bristol.
“Combined with limited supply in the city, Avonmouth continues to hold the key for many occupiers,” he added.
Grundon Waste Management, which was founded in 1929, has a leading position in the waste industry underpinned by a commitment to service, innovation and technical progress along with what it describes as a genuine and demonstrable concern for the environment.
It works with customers across the South of England to provide a total waste management service for the reduction, reuse, recycling, recovering and disposal of waste.
