By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters

 

Right now, warehouses over 500,000 ft2 are hot property nationwide but are increasingly in short supply – if available at all on a regional basis. DTRE research reports that there were just 39 buildings over 300,000 ft2 at the end of May – the lowest supply level since December 2024. And the larger the building, the scarcer the beast with Knight Frank noting there are probably only eight or nine properties immediately available over 400,000 ft2. One such property is Ultrabox – a bit of a beast on the outskirts of East London…

 

Ultrabox, Valor Park, Purfleet By Pass, Purfleet, Essex RM19 1TT

Development Type: Refurbished

Owner: Valor Real Estate Partners

Developer: Gazeley (2004/5)

Letting Agents: Savills, Cushman & Wakefield, DTRE

Unit size: 505,955 ft2

Power: up to 3.2MvA

Sustainability: BREEAM Excellent, EPC A

 

Beast it may be, but the journey to find it was far from beastly  – it was extremely easy to get to from the M25 motorway on yet another warm and sunny Monday morning.

Being a refurbished property, landscaping is well established and despite being so large it is surprisingly low profile in its industrial surroundings.

Originally built in 2004 by pioneering eco-warehouse developer Gazeley and funded by Standard Life Investments (now Abrdn), the property on a former Esso oil depot site totalling some 30 acres, at the time boasted some of the highest green building credentials, with 12m eaves, 42 dock and four level access doors served by a 50m yard – it was the largest speculatively built facility ever build in the Southeast.

The £55 million property sat on the market for two years before securing a tenant with a 25 year lease to UK carpet retailer Carpetright at an initial rent of £7.25 per ft2 with a two and a half year rent free period.

Ultrabox was sold by Abrdn to Valor and Blackstone for £143 million at the end of 2021 when Carpetright still had 10.76 years left on its lease on a reversionary rent of £9.60 per ft2. Carpetright remained in situ until it entered administration in 2024.

The scale of the issue then facing Valor is probably downplayed, the outgoing tenant  literally left everything standing and there was no recourse to securing dilapidations, on top of that the  property was tired – but the ‘bone structure’ was there.

A comprehensive £8 million refurbishment programme was put in place and in less than a year the transformation is all but complete. It has included a complete replacement roof with 7.5% roof lights – reducing thermal gain – a definite boon as the UK is set to enter yet another heatwave next week.

Tia the Lab(rador) Assistant had an exceedingly happy time expending her energy exploring  the space available  – of which there really is rather a lot – both inside and out.

The refurbishment saw a huge upgrade to the office space with full refit including redecoration, new LED lighting, suspended ceiling, carpet tiles and kitchenettes – I counted at least four…

There are new loos, new doors and windows, upgraded VRF ASHP heating & cooling system to offices, fire protection works, repairs and replacement works to cladding and dock levellers, yard space and drains – and while it may not be all brand spanking new it has achieved BREEAM Excellent and an EPC A rating that coupled with a quoting rent of £13.50 per ft2, it gives warehouses with equivalent volumetric space a definite run for their money.

With its huge footprint, 12m eaves height and 42 dock and four level access doors some may be surprised to learn that it is not cross docked, at present it doesn’t even have  360 degree  circulation – but there is room to do so, and this is being considered very carefully.

While the A13 can be a challenge periodically it does  sweep  right past the doorstep and  means that deliveries can be made straight to the heart of London’s West End and beyond. With that in mind Valor doubled the power supply availability to 3.2MvA and that, coupled with the 100% PV readiness of the expansive roof space, could provide enough power to charge a whole fleet of electric vans overnight as well as the actual warehouse itself with automation storage and retrieval systems continuous conveyor systems etc.

The property provides 451,148 ft2 of warehouse space with 14,091 ft2 of ground floor office and plant space as well as a further 36,964 ft2 office across first and second floors as well as an internally located two storey hub office of 3,752 ft2. There is extensive yard space with parking for 73 HGVs.