Aberdeen Standard Investments’ Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust (AIPUT) has signed a pre-let agreement with long-standing customer, dnata, for the continued growth of its air cargo facility at dnata City East.
The proposed 115,000 square foot facility, just south of London’s Heathrow airport, has been designed to operate in conjunction with a newly completed 250,000 square foot warehouse (also operated by dnata), handling all Virgin Atlantic Cargo and Delta Cargo’s air freight at Heathrow.
The existing building already represented the largest off-airport pre-let in Heathrow’s history. Subject to planning consent, the proposed new facility will make dnata City East the largest off-site cargo handling operation at the UK’s largest commercial aviation hub, with the two dnata City East buildings together doubling the size of the airlines’ joint cargo operations at Heathrow.
Like its counterpart, the proposed new facility will incorporate the latest carbon reduction initiatives in design and operation, in line with AIPUT’s Carbon Strategy, including solar panels, air-source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging.
Nick Smith, Fund Manager for AIPUT, owners of the site, said: “This pre-let supports AIPUT’s long-term vision to grow our high-quality air cargo portfolio at Heathrow. Our successful partnership with dnata at dnata City East sets a new benchmark for airport industrial property investment, in terms both of its unprecedented scale and the industry-leading environmental credentials of the buildings.
“Our proposed new warehouse is set to further reinforce the status of this critically important logistics destination as the most significant off-airport cargo-handling operation at Heathrow.”
CEO for dnata UK, Gary Morgan, added: “We are thrilled to enhance our operations in the UK by committing to another state-of-the-art facility in London Heathrow. Our final phase of dnata City East builds on the multi-million pound investments we have made at the airport in the last five years, cementing our position as a leading cargo services provider in the country. We continue to invest in advanced infrastructure and cutting-edge technologies to deliver the best possible services for our customers.”