Plans for Moog’s £40m Centre of Excellence facility as developer looks for funds

By Moog Aircraft Group
schedule24th Sep 20

Moog has received a pre-let deal with Barberry Industrial for a 184,000sq ft centre of excellence facility for their aircraft controls operation. However, the developer is looking for £35m forward funding to complete the project. Work on site is due to start in January 2021 following the appointment of a contractor.

The centre of excellence facility is set to be built in Tewkesbury, West Midlands and will cost around £40m to complete. Moog has been located in Tewkesbury for almost 40 years and is one of the largest employers in the area.

The facility will be located at junction 9 of the M5 motorway and Moog has signed an agreement for a new RPI-linked 35-year lease without break.

Cushman & Wakefield is acting on behalf of Barberry Industrial to appoint a funding partner and is seeking offers in excess of £35.61m.

Jon Robinson, development director and shareholder of Barberry Industrial, said: “The UK Logistics and Industrial market has remained resilient to the challenges of 2020. The pre-let to Moog Controls is one of a number of occupiers we have transacted with during 2020 across our UK wide industrial/warehouse pipeline of circa 3.3m sq ft. We are delighted to be presenting this long income opportunity to the market working closely with Cushman & Wakefield to secure a forward funding partner for this high specification, state-of-the-art industrial building, designed to be carbon neutral and built to a BREEAM Excellent standard and let to the undoubted covenant of Moog on an RPI linked 35-year lease.”

Ned Jones, partner in Cushman & Wakefield Capital Markets team, added: “This is a rare opportunity to acquire the freehold interest in a state-of-the-art headquarters. The building has excellent design and sustainability credentials which will provide a high-quality industrial facility. There are very few opportunities of this calibre in the market and with the RPI linked long lease to a strong covenant we fully expect it will be of interest to a broad range of investors.”

The new high tech facility will span over 184,034 sq ft with extra land available for expansion. The future extension will see a warehouse take the facility up to 207,000 sq ft. 

Moog’s Tewkesbury Aircraft Controls Segment operation is the global centre of excellence for the design of servo valves and has a large engineering division within its facility. This will help foster further growth in Moog’s Engine and Flight Control products for new and existing military and commercial aerospace programmes. 

(Source: Business Desk)