US-headquartered developer to open Manchester office

US-headquartered industrial developer First Panattoni has confirmed plans for a Northern office.

The California-based company appointed property professional Daniel Burn to lead its new operation in Manchester, which will develop speculative logistics warehousing across the North of England and the M6, M62 and M1 corridors.

First Panattoni is currently the largest new-build industrial developer in Europe, with its European arm having completed over 30 million sq ft of warehousing facilities in the last two years.

Earlier this month, it broke ground on a 235,000 sq ft development in Crewe.

Matthew Byrom, managing director of First Panattoni, said: “The rapid growth of e-commerce, and the on-going structural changes in the retail sector, have provided an unprecedented opportunity for growth.

“Last quarter, we saw the highest take-up of new build warehousing in the UK since records began and we see the supply-starved North West and Yorkshire market as key targets for our business.”

Daniel Burn has previously held senior positions at property consultancies King Sturge and JLL, and developer DB Symmetry.

He commented: “First Panattoni has quickly established a market leading position in the Midlands and South with its bold and ambitious approach to speculative development.

“When offered the opportunity to replicate this in the North, I didn’t hesitate to accept.”

First Panattoni has allocated £525m for new UK land purchases in 2018/19 and is currently working on more than 3,500,000 sq ft of development here.