Award winning Northampton e-commerce company signs 10-year lease on new base

An award-winning Northampton company which helps online brands grow has signed a 10-year lease on a new base in the town.

James and James Fulfilment has agreed to move to Liberty 196 – a new Prologis and Equation Properties facility on Brackmills Industrial Estate.

Chief executive and co-founder James Hyde said: “We’ve been nearing capacity in our current fulfilment centre for some time.

"But with the current crisis creating additional demand for our services – and social distancing – the need to expand has become more pressing.

"Liberty 196 is an impressive facility and we’re excited to move in to unlock the next phase of our growth.”

The site is set to become operational in late July, following a fit out by Prologis and James and James, to include racking and employee welfare facilities.

Construction of a mezzanine level will begin in 2021, creating an operational space of 600,000 sq ft – six times James and James’s current fulfilment centre, also on Brackmills.

The e-commerce fulfillment firm will run the two locations in parallel, before moving fully to Liberty 196 in 2021.

Alan Sarjant, from Prologis UK, said: “This letting to James and James at Liberty 196 is really positive news in the current climate and underpins the importance of Northampton as a central and crucial hub for UK logistics.

"E-commerce fulfilment is a segment of the market that has been experiencing strong growth for some time, and the recent lockdown situation has generated considerable additional demand.

“Alongside managing the property, we’ll be helping James and James with the fit out of the main building and its employee welfare facilities.

"With this new fulfilment centre at Liberty 196, the business will be operating alongside some big household names and we’re sure the additional capacity will bring them continued success and help to grow the business even further."

James and James won its second Queen's Award in the international trade field in the West Midlands in April, following a 1,700 per cent increase in export revenues over the last five years.