Leading property developer Graftongate has announced the first letting in the final phase of development at the 45-acre Leicester Distribution Park (LEDP), a joint venture with Blackrock.

Piping Rock, a global manufacturer and supplier of health products, has signed a 10-year lease on Unit 8, a newly built, speculative distribution unit extending to 75,000 sq ft. The letting marks the US health product giant’s expansion in the UK market.

The final phase three of LEDP will deliver four new distribution and logistics units with a combined area of 300,000 sq ft.

All four units will be completed in March 2022 and include remaining units of 30,000 sq ft, 45,000 sq ft and 150,000 sq ft which are available and subject to strong interest.

The units have been built to carbon neutral construction and operational standards, and are rated as BREEAM ‘very good’. They will benefit from sustainability features including PV solar panels, EV charging points, rainwater harvesting, sustainable drainage systems and intelligent energy monitoring.

LEDP is conveniently located just four miles west of Leicester city centre and 40 minutes from East Midlands Airport. The site benefits from easy access to the UK’s main motorway network, lying less than a mile from the M1 and two miles from junction 21 of the M1 and M69 interchange.

Graftongate and BlackRock developed four units with a total area of 400,000 sq ft during the first two phases of the scheme, for established occupiers including Samworth Brothers, Power Towers, Company Shop Group and Leicester Tissue Company.

The completed scheme will contain eight Grade A logistics units with a total combined area of 700,000 sq ft.

Colin Beasley, Director at Graftongate, said: “Piping Rock are a welcome new occupier to the scheme and we wish them all the best in their expansion into the UK market. They have chosen LEDP to locate their national distribution centre and will benefit from its location at the heart of the UK distribution network. We have very strong interest in the remaining units and we hope to be able to announce further lettings shortly.”

For more information, please contact the scheme’s retained agents, CBRE, M1 and Innes England or visit: https://leicesterdp.co.uk/