M7 powers up with South Wales warehouse letting

M7 Real Estate (“M7”), the pan-European investor and asset manager, has completed a new 96,521 sq ft warehouse letting at the South Wales Distribution Centre industrial estate in Kenfig, increasing occupancy to 100%.

OXIS Energy (“OXIS”), the leading specialist in lithium sulphur cells, has taken the space on a 15 year lease at £3.50 per sq ft. The warehouse will be used as OXIS’ main manufacturing plant in the UK and it hopes to grow the business and employment in the region over the next ten years. In the last few years South Wales Distribution Centre has attracted high profile tenants including Amazon, Bunzl Greenhams and Bunzl Lockhart.

South Wales Distribution Centre was acquired on behalf of a major fund in 2018 and is an established industrial estate totalling 495,000 sq ft that is strategically situated adjacent to the M4 motorway between Swansea and Cardiff. Access from England to Wales on the M4 via the Severn Bridge is now toll free, which is predicted to provide a £100 million boost to the Welsh economy.

OXIS is in the process of manufacturing the first lithium sulphur battery cell, which it believes will revolutionise the rechargeable battery market, and it has a number of high profile partners including NASA, SAFRAN Aeronautical Group, Siemens, Arkema, Renault Umicore and the Development Bank of Wales.

George Gaynor, Asset Manager at M7, commented: “OXIS Energy represents another great addition to this estate and it is a significant letting in terms of both the commitment and covenant. Moreover, this letting demonstrates the strong rental growth in the South Wales industrial market, where well specified space is at a premium, and is exactly the kind of asset management we seek to undertake to generate value from our assets.”

Huw Hampson-Jones, CEO of OXIS Energy, added: “Accessibility to the Western seaboard of the Welsh ports, Cardiff, Newport, Port Talbot and Swansea in order to export to Brazil, is of utmost importance to us. OXIS Energy will manufacture its electrolyte and cathode active material for integration into its rechargeable Lithium sulphur cell technology for use in aircraft and large electric vehicles such as buses, trucks and marine vessels. OXIS Energy’s objective is to export these products on a worldwide basis to meet the demands of eliminating fossil fuels in aviation resulting in cleaner skies, buses and trucks ensuring our large metropolitan cities are cleaner.”