Ocado expands to Oxfordshire by takes strategically important unit in Bicester
Ocado has snapped up the last available speculatively built warehouse at Tritax Symmetry’s 53-acre Symmetry Park, Bicester scheme in Oxfordshire.
The deal sees Ocado take the last available speculative unit at the park developed by Tritax Symmetry, the dedicated logistics development company of Tritax Big Box.
The online retailer has taken on a 20-year lease. Once operational in 2022, the scheme will be used to further improve its distribution across Oxfordshire for the rapidly growing online grocery customer base. The facility will be one of the most advanced in the world with high tech robotics.
Danny Kennedy, Senior Real Estate Program Manager at Ocado said “We’re pleased to partner with Tritax Symmetry on this new site. Our operations from this site will create 900 jobs for local people and contribute £50m to the local economy, as well as serving a growing customer base in the region. We’ve seen a huge demand for our services this year and we’re pleased to be able to expand our operations to serve tens of thousands more customers from this site in Symmetry Park.”
Symmetry Park Bicester is already home to Bentley Designs (88,000 sq ft); Medline Services (110,000 sq ft) and DPD Group (60,000 sq ft) which is currently under construction and due to be completed in April 2021. The distribution hub for DPD is the first net zero carbon in construction building in the Tritax portfolio.
Tritax has planning consent for an extension to the park which could provide 270,000 sq ft in one unit, or 1270,000 and 90,000 sq ft in two units.
