Peel Ports Group is building a 100,000 sq ft warehouse at King George V Dock in Glasgow as part of a multi-million-pound drive to add one million sq ft of storage across its ports. The operator says customers in defence, chemicals, fertiliser and bulk goods are driving the demand.
Peel Ports, which describes itself as the UK’s second-largest port operator, says demand for warehouse space is now outpacing supply and that it is helping customers secure critical capacity. A report from property consultancy Savills this summer found rising demand for larger warehouses across the UK and warned the country could face a major shortage. The phased programme spans the group’s Clydeport and Liverpool operations and will deliver around 92,000 square metres of new space, roughly the area of 13 football pitches.
The Glasgow warehouse forms part of the first phase, which also includes a 900,000 sq ft warehouse in Liverpool and upgrades to existing facilities there. At Greenock, the company is expanding its specialist logistics offer with bonded warehousing for importers and distributors. King George V Dock opened in 1931 to handle the larger ships then beginning to serve the Clyde, and it remains the largest dock on the Upper Clyde.
David Huck, chief operating officer for ports and marine at Peel Ports Group, said customers wanted high-quality storage close to the company’s port network. “Demand continues to grow across a number of critical industries,” he said, while acknowledging that economic conditions remain challenging. Demand is strongest in west Scotland and north-west England, which he said gave the group the confidence to invest. He argued that warehousing beside the quay lets customers streamline operations, cut transport movements, get goods to market faster and build stronger supply chains, which he described as a significant competitive advantage at a time when every pound, every day and every decision matters.
The new space at King George V Dock and the bonded warehousing at Greenock will widen the integrated logistics services Peel Ports can offer businesses trading through Scotland. Over the past 15 years the group has developed more than 1.6 million sq ft of Grade A warehousing at Liverpool, Clydeport and London Medway, serving customers in steel, metals, bulk commodities and other industries. The company has not given a cost or completion date for the Glasgow warehouse and says further details will follow as the projects progress.
