The UK’s largest-ever speculative logistics building is set to be built at Avonmouth as part of a £250m, 1.3m sq ft development.
At 882,000 sq ft, the unit would be the size of around 10 Wembley Stadiums. While smaller than the largest building in the area – retail group The Range’s 1.2m sq ft warehouse – it would be the biggest to be constructed without having an occupier ready to move in. 
Behind the scheme, which will also include a 406,000 sq ft unit, is Panattoni, Europe’s largest developer of industrial and logistics facilities.
The group hit the headlines last year when it bought the Honda’s sprawling 370-acre site on the outskirts of Swindon.
Its latest development, to be called Panattoni Park Avonmouth, will be on a prime, 73-acre Central Park site, which Panattoni has just acquired in an off-market deal.
The site has planning consent for 1.3 m sq ft of space in two units. Avonmouth has become a magnet for major logistics operators over recent years, particularly in food retailing as smaller sub-regional warehouses have been abandoned in favour of supersized depots capable of supplying stores across entire regions.
Panattoni said it expects to start construction shortly, with completion scheduled for the third quarter of next year.
The firm said the site is strategically positioned for local and national distribution via the M32, M48, M49, M4 and M5 motorways. Major occupiers in the area already include Amazon, The Range, Lidl, DHL, Tesco and Davies Turner.
Panattoni development director James Watson said: “Our new acquisition gives us the ability to deliver large-scale speculative units in an established logistics location. UK stock remains at an all-time low at a time when Bristol and the wider South West and South East markets are experiencing their strongest take-up for many years.”
Agents for Panattoni Park Avonmouth are DTRE, JLL & Colliers.
