In 2017, Daniel Harness, now of Coke Gearing, started work for the landowner on a 26-acre greenfield site then known as Horsley Cross, Colchester.
The site was historically used as a car boot site by the local farmer who had previously obtained an outline consent for a new industrial park in 2014. The consent itself was not straightforward, based on current warehousing occupiers’ needs, with a number of planning restrictions that impacted the viability of the scheme. Daniel, alongside his joint agent, David Brooks of Brooks Levy, provided initial advice on how to improve the planning permission of the the site and develop the marketing strategy to bring the site to the market.
We commenced marketing of the site in 2018 and soon agreed a subject to planning deal for the whole site with a national occupier looking to relocate their local manufacturing operation. They bought the whole site in 2019 but only required 16 acres for their new facility. Daniel was retained, alongside the occupier’s agent, Phil Dennis of Savills, to dispose of the surplus 10 acres, which now benefitted from a new unrestricted warehouse consent. We agreed terms with national developer Tungsten to buy the remaining land for a new logistics park in 2021. During this process, the occupier had a change within the business which resulted in the site being surplus to requirements. Daniel and Savills negotiated the sale of the entire site to Tungsten in 2022, who obtained a detailed consent for the scheme with a view to commencing speculative construction on site, which is now known as Centurion Business Park.
In 2024 construction of the park site was completed, funded by Tristan Capital Partners and with development managed by Tungsten. The park comprises eleven high quality industrial and distribution units for B1(c), B2 and B8 uses totalling 350,000 sq ft, built to the highest specification and in units ranging from 11,000 to 70,000 sq ft, all with the latest green credentials. 2025 saw significant lettings of some 120,000 sq ft to both national and regional companies with further units close to going under offer.
This project is one of several that demonstrate the long-term effort that Coke Gearing Consulting put into projects which are complex, long-term and require accurate analysis and advice at each stage.
For information or advice in relation to similar projects across the region, contact Daniel Harness, Paul Fitch or Adam Tindall.
