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BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND-The UK supermarket chain Sainsbury's has negotiated a build-to-suit deal with Denver-based ProLogis for what will be one of the more environmentally advanced distribution centers in the world. The 530,000-sf warehouse will be located within ProLogis Park Pineham in the Midlands, the UK's primary distribution hub.
The new facility will incorporate features and technologies designed to significantly reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions at the site including wall-mounted photovoltaic panels that generate electricity; solar walls that produce heat from sunlight; an on-site power plant that reuses the heat produced by air conditioning; an on-site recycling facility; energy efficient lighting systems; and air-tight construction that minimizes energy loss through the external fabric of the building. The project is helping both companies put a face on their respective environmental initiatives.
"We recognize that experience and expertise in this area will be a key success factor for industrial developers in the future, in order to meet more stringent regulatory requirements and the demands of customers concerned about corporate social responsibility," says Ken Hall, managing director of global development for ProLogis in Europe. Adds Roger Burley, Sainsbury's head of supply chain, "Sustainability is a core value at our company. We recognize that virtually every business decision we make has an impact on the environment, and that we can minimize that impact… ."
ProLogis Park Pineham is located immediately adjacent to junction 15A off the M1 motorway. The 116-acre site will eventually host more than 1.62 million sf of distribution space.
The Sainsbury facility, when completed later this year, will serve as a regional distribution center serving 50 Sainsbury's stores throughout the central part of the country. Sainsbury's will occupy the building under a multi-year lease.
The new facility also will more than double ProLogis' business with the company. Sainsbury's currently leases 112,000 sf from the company outside London and an additional 256,000 sf in the east Midlands.
By the time the facility is complete, J. Sainsbury plc, the owner of the chain, may be in new hands. A private equity team is considering a bid for the supermarket group. The would-be deal value, estimated at 9 billion pounds, would be Europe's largest leveraged buyout.
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