Hitachi take Centurion in 107,000 sq ft transaction

29 April 2008

Hitachi arrive in Basingstoke with the acquisition of "Centurion"

Hollis Hockley and their joint agents King Sturge, acting on behalf of Hermes Real Estate have arranged the largest warehouse letting on the M3 corridor for approximately 3 years, following the completion of a 10 year lease to Hitachi Transport Systeem (Nederland) B.V.

The logistics and freight management arm of the Japanese conglomerate have a taken a new 10 year lease on the Centurion building at West Ham Industrial Park which was constructed in 1976 and let to previous tenants, Johnson & Johnson. Hermes have since invested in a substantial refurbishment, which was completed during February in time for Hitachi's occupation.

Mike Jones of Hitachi comments: "We are delighted to have acquired this prestigious warehouse building which will enable us to offer excellent logistics services to both existing and new customers".

Tim Turnbull, Director at Hermes real estate, comments: "We are delighted to announce that we have secured one of the largest lettings on the M3 since 2003, which follows our repositioning and refurbishment of the Park during 2007. We have invested to ensure that the fit-out of the unit matches their excellent location within 5 minutes drive of the M3 and the speed with which we have been able to let Centurion is a strong endorsement of our work on the park and the strength of the market in the M3 corridor, in particular in Basingstoke as a logistics and distribution hub."

Nick Olliffe, Partner at Hollis Hockley comments: "We are extremely pleased to have let Centurion so quickly after the comprehensive refurbishment works to Hitachi Transport. This is the only letting in excess  of 100,000 sq ft in Hampshire this year. From a personal point of view, it is especially satisfying since this instruction was one of our very first for the new Basingstoke office in September 2007."