Leeds City Council acquires 80,000 sq ft distribution hub at Logic Leeds

Leeds City Council has acquired a distribution hub in Leeds from Muse Developments for an undisclosed sum.

Retail giant Amazon currently occupy the 80,840 sq ft industrial property with offices at Logic Leeds, by Junction 45 of the M1.

The Unit 1 has been added to the city council’s investment portfolio and will produce new rental income for the local authority’s coffers. The council has taken a 250-year lease on the property.

The Unit 1 building features 4,000 sq ft of offices and 100 car parking spaces. It is part of Logic Leeds, Muse Developments’ flagship 110-acre manufacturing and distribution development in the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone.

This deal, which has just been completed, follows Muse Developments’s sale of the 50,500 sq ft Logic Leeds hub, occupied by John Lewis, to AXA’s UK Long Lease Property Fund for £6.2m in September 2015.

David Wells, regional director for Muse in Leeds, said: “These two high-profile deals are a resounding endorsement of the qualities of our development at Logic Leeds. They will enable us to invest in the rest of Logic Leeds to create new jobs for the city and boost the regional economy. Logic Leeds is well and truly on the map.

“We are very proud to have two household names like Amazon and John Lewis at Logic Leeds, proving that West Yorkshire, with its excellent transport links and skilled workforce, is attractive to successful national retailers. The enterprise zone incentives at Logic Leeds are also an integral part of its popularity.”

Logic Leeds is part of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone, which means that it benefits from a range of incentives for occupiers.

These incentives include a discount on business rates, worth up to £275k per business over a five-year period; a simplified and accelerated planning process; an opportunity for enhanced capital allowance claims; and high-speed fibre-optic broadband.

David added: “Logic Leeds is superbly located next to the new East Leeds Link Road, just half a mile from Junction 45 of the M1 and minutes from Leeds city centre, and it offers a huge opportunity for the Leeds and wider Yorkshire industrial and distribution market.

Tom Lamb, industrial property specialist with property consultancy Knight Frank in Leeds, which is marketing Logic Leeds with Carter Towler, commented: “These are two of the most significant industrial property deals in Yorkshire during the past nine months. They underline the fact that momentum is returning to the West Yorkshire industrial property market.

“It has also endorsed the Logic Leeds development, which has the capacity to create thousands of sustainable jobs for the Leeds City Region and beyond.”

Councillor Richard Lewis, executive member for regeneration, transport and planning for Leeds City Council, concluded: “We’re absolutely determined to drive Leeds towards having a strong economy while being a compassionate city that embraces opportunity for all. Our proactive approach to economic development underpinned by wise asset investment and management enables the council to be a real catalyst in stimulating the local economy.

“It has enabled us to play a pivotal role in Leeds’ economic resurgence, working closely in partnership with a resilient and innovative private sector. This investment should further cement that approach.”

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