Jingdong Property secures Leicestershire logistics facilities and development plot
Chinese e-commerce conglomerate JD.com’s property arm Jingdong Property has bought units 1 and 2 as well as a design and build plot for up to circa. 680,000 ft2 of warehouse space at Griffen Park, Desford, Leicestershire from developer and fund manager Griffen UK.
By Liza Helps, Property Editor, Logistics Matters
THE ANNOUNCEMENT from JD.com, just before Christmas 2025, did not identify the exact location of the facilities but following detailed research Logistics Matters believes the property to be Griffen UK’s Griffen Park scheme at Desford.
Griffen Park is a 900,000 ft2 scheme which has been carved out of the larger Neovia Logistics Desford Campus site which Griffen acquired as part of a £55 million sale and leaseback in May 2020 with 3PL Neovia taking a five year lease at £10 million.
The four unit Griffen Park scheme comprises completed units of 128,048 ft2 and 103,679 ft2 as well as a plot of adjacent land with planning permission for two units of 508,050 ft2 and 169,878 ft2.
The larger of the two completed units was let on a 10 year lease to Caterpillar at a rent of £8.40 per ft2 in July 2023.
Both Unit 1 and Unit2 have been constructed to achieve BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings, and include EV charging infrastructure, cladding insulation with a BREEAM Green Guide ‘A+’ rating, and the flexibility to install rooftop solar PV systems.
The newly acquired greenfield plot will be developed into a modern Grade-A logistics space, supporting occupiers seeking advanced, efficient, and well-located warehousing solutions.
Jingdong Property Europe and the Americas Regional CEO Kai–yan Lee, said: “Our new UK investment strengthens Jingdong Property’s investment footprint in the market, and reflects our long-term commitment to supporting regional economic development and enhancing the local supply chain ecosystem as one of the most active industrial and logistics investment managers in the market.
“The assets will benefit from Jingdong Property’s strong expertise in developing, operating and managing industrial and logistics space, ensuring the delivery of best-in-class industrial warehousing infrastructure and services that support the evolving needs of both the existing and future occupiers.”
With this new acquisition, the total UK warehouse footprint of Jingdong Property will be expanded to nearly 3,930,000 ft2 and includes a 361,000 ft2 property in Milton Keynes bought in 2022 as well as four units at Ansty Park near Coventry, Coton Park in Rugby as well as the former Wigan Asda site in the Northwest which is due to be redeveloped as reported by Logistics Matters in November last year.
The transaction was supported by Dentons, as legal advisors, BDO who provided tax and corporate finance advisory services and Colliers who acted as technical adviser for Jingdong Property. The joint letting agents for Griffen Park were JLL, Dove Haigh Phillips and Cushman & Wakefield.
