Prologis, Inc., and joint venture partner Wittington Investments (Developments) Limited today announced a lease agreement with Screwfix for a purpose-built 562,000 square foot distribution centre at Prologis Park Fradley, in the West Midlands. The development will be forward funded by Tritax Big Box REIT plc.

Multi-channel trade retailer Screwfix, which is part of Kingfisher plc, is expanding its distribution base to meet the needs of its growing store network. Prologis Park Fradley is in an established industrial area, next to the A38 north of Lichfield and close to the M42, M6, M6 Toll and M1 motorways.

aThe decision to construct a warehouse near Lichfield was taken to ensure we have the logistics infrastructure to support the needs of our expanding business,a said Martin Lee, Supply Chain, Logistics and IT Director, Screwfix.

aAdding one store per week to our network means we need to make sure we have the stock distribution in place to enable our busy trade customers to get what they want, when they need it from the nearest Screwfix, so they can get back to the job as quickly as possible.”

Lee added aWe will initially be recruiting 200 new warehouse colleagues and drivers and the number of roles required will grow to 700 to support its growth plan, representing a significant employment opportunity for the local community.a

The new building has been designed to achieve a minimum BREEAM avery gooda accreditation and an EPC aAa rating. Construction will begin in December 2016 with completion expected in autumn 2017.

Andrew Griffiths, managing director, Prologis UK said aPrologis Park Fradley is one of the few remaining locations in the region that can accommodate a building of this size because of the shortage of employment land in the West Midlands.