B&M picks Iron Mountain to serve distribution needs following closure of its Middlewich distribution centre
Discount retail store B&M is to close its circa. 468,000 ft2 distribution centre in Middlewich, Cheshire and transfer distribution needs of the centre to a third party – Iron Mountain.
By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters
THE NEWS announced in its Y26 Q1 trading statement on the 15th July noted that the company would shortly begin the planned relocation of its Middlewich distribution centre ahead of lease expiry in August 2026.
Local newspaper The Northwich & Winsford Guardian quoted a B&M spokesperson who said that landlord Brookfield Asset Management had agreed to lease the property to a new tenant once B&M’s lease came to an end.
In addition, the spokesperson said that B&M had been actively seeking a similarly sized facility to support its ongoing distribution needs relating to the Middlewich operation and confirmed that this would now be serviced by a third party, Iron Mountain, from Iron Mountain’s Warwickshire facility in Rugby.
Iron Mountain secured 966,603 ft2 of space in a four unit campus at Symmetry Park Rugby in 2022 from Tritax Big Box. According to Iron Mountain the campus will act as a central hub from which it will offer a broad portfolio of services, from pallet storage, B2B fulfilment to document and data storage services.
B&M Employees are being supported with some set to be transferred to other sites and some thought to be transferred to the new tenant under TUPE regulations.
B&M took a 10-year sub-let from Tesco on Midpoint 460 in 2015 at a rent of £4 per ft2. Tesco sold the property in 2022 to Brookfield Asset Management for £45 million.
Midpoint 460 sits on a 25-acre site off Pochin Way in Middlewich. The 468,914 ft2 cross-dock facility built in 1992, has 358,668 ft2 of warehouse space with 12.1m eaves as well as 64 dock and one level access door. It has ground floor offices and first floor space totalling 110,246 ft2.
Due to the low site coverage of the asset, the unit could potentially be extended to the south by a further 60,000 ft2 and has the potential after refurbishment to secure an EPC B rating according to the letting brochure produced by Brookfield. The property is located 2 miles from Junction 18 of the M6 motorway.
The new tenant for Midpoint 460 is as yet unknown.
