“Game-changing” warehouse and distribution centre opens at UK’s busiest container port

Stephen George + Partners LLP (SGP) has worked with main contractor TSL handing over a 750,000 sqft new build warehouse facility to Uniserve, the leading independent UK logistics and freight management provider, who has described its new facility as a “game-changing development for UK supply chains.”

SGP was brought in by contractor TSL to deliver a full detailed design of base build and operator fitout for the warehouse, including ambient and cold storage, with ancillary office and staff areas. The new distribution centre is sited a quarter of a mile from the Port of Felixstowe, the UK’s busiest container port, handling more than 4million TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and approximately 3,000 ships each year.

Arshad Khan, Studio Director at SGP’s Leicester office: “This was an exciting and challenging project, working closely with the end user to develop a specialist facility, bespoke to their needs. More usually we work with developers on speculative units that are designed to appeal to a wide range of potential tenants. Here we were working with an experienced operator who had clear views of the practicalities of running a cost efficient fulfilment centre 52 weeks a year.”

The warehouse is BRC food grade accredited, bonded for both wet and dry goods. It has a footprint of 46,000 sqm with a maximum internal height of 23 metres and 21 metres at its haunch. It is used for high rack storage at ambient temperature alongside four mezzanine storage levels of 50,000 sqft each. A 100,000 sqft freezer storage area is protected from external temperature changes by a chilled marshalling zone. The office is over three levels with an associated plant deck that is linked to the mezzanine floors.

Continues Arshad: “We were able to apply our expertise in BIM to the project and the processes played an important role in pulling together all the specialist contractors and consultants. I think it was key to delivering this complex project in an extremely short space of time – 36 weeks.”

The facility has been handed over to Uniserve and is now operational.