Henry Boot's Origin joint venture has pre-let a 53,800 sq ft industrial unit within ARK phase two at Markham Vale, Derbyshire, to an unnamed manufacturing business, giving manufacturers seeking to consolidate operations a live example of demand for grade-A, M1-connected space even as the occupier's identity and sector specifics were not disclosed.

The Markham Vale unit sits within a £9m GDV scheme and is due to complete in September 2026. The letting is part of a wider 404,100 sq ft of space let across Origin's portfolio, including deals with logistics firm Relay Tech, an energy supplier and online retailer Virgin Wines.

Following the lettings, 66 per cent of Origin's 711,000 sq ft current portfolio is let or under offer, with phase one of the Walsall SPARK scheme now fully occupied.

Origin is a UK industrial and logistics joint venture between HBD, Henry Boot's development arm, and German investor Feldberg Capital, which holds a 75 per cent stake and acts as investment manager; the platform is targeting around £1bn of schemes over seven years.

Ed Hutchinson, CEO at Henry Boot, said the lettings reflect both the quality of the Origin portfolio and the depth of occupier demand for modern, sustainable industrial and logistics space in well-connected locations, adding that each deal had set new headline rents and supported the portfolio's income and capital growth potential.

The letting reflects continued occupier demand for grade-A, motorway-connected mid-box units, with manufacturers among the occupier types absorbing new UK industrial supply as they look to consolidate operations into single, modern facilities.

Feldberg Capital has previously cited the trend of firms bringing production back to the UK, alongside continued e-commerce growth, as structural drivers behind demand for this type of space, having backed the Origin platform with a £156m first investment close.

With the occupier's identity undisclosed, the deal reads primarily as a property story, but the underlying pattern, consolidating operations into a single grade-A unit rather than expanding capacity, recurs frequently among UK manufacturers seeking efficiency gains.

For the sector, the wider signal is that motorway-connected mid-box units remain a preferred model for manufacturers consolidating operations, even where deal specifics such as occupier identity and end use are not disclosed at signing.

Source: East Midlands Business Link / Investegate / World Construction Network / Real Assets