Marq lets 659,428 sq ft Corby logistics facility

Marq Logistics has confirmed the letting of MPC2, a 659,428 sq ft warehouse at Magna Park Corby in Northamptonshire. The landlord describes the tenant as a major international fulfilment and logistics provider serving cross-border businesses and UK online retailers. Property publication Logistics Matters identifies the occupier as Super Smart Service, associated with CIRRO Fulfillment, but Marq has not confirmed that name in its own account of the transaction.

The transaction brings a previously unoccupied building into a new leasing arrangement, although the date at which the incoming operator will start handling freight is not public. Neither the rent nor the term of the agreement has been disclosed. Super Smart Service has been linked in trade reporting to other distribution properties, but that information does not establish how many people will work at MPC2 or which customers will use its space.

MPC2 was completed in November 2023 and is designed for high-volume logistics operations. The property comprises approximately 613,779 sq ft of warehouse area, 28,804 sq ft of main offices and separate transport office accommodation within the overall 659,428 sq ft gross internal area. It has an 18-metre clear height, 67 dock doors, eight level access doors, service yards of approximately 55 and 60 metres and 228 parking spaces for heavy goods vehicles.

A cross-dock arrangement can support goods passing through a facility between inbound and outbound vehicles with relatively limited time in reserve storage. Incoming trailers are unloaded, items are checked and sorted, and consignments are assembled for onward despatch at other doors. Whether MPC2 is ultimately used predominantly for that purpose or for a mixture of storage and fulfilment will depend on the incoming operator’s fit-out, contractual service requirements and the profile of goods being handled.

The large dock count permits multiple vehicles to be handled within the same operating period, although it does not mean every door can always run at full capacity. Vehicle arrival patterns, labour allocation, conveyor or forklift movements, and the location of goods inside the building influence usable throughput. A wide yard helps with approach and vehicle manoeuvring, but trailer dwell time and appointment discipline remain important when the site accommodates a large number of vehicles.

The building’s 18-metre eaves height offers scope for high storage installations, subject to a suitable racking and fire safety design. A fulfilment operation handling a broad range of small consumer products may require different picking areas from a conventional pallet distribution warehouse. Mezzanine systems, carton handling equipment, shelving and automated sortation can use substantial floor area, but none of those installations has been announced as part of the new letting. The reported specifications describe the building as delivered, not the tenant’s final internal system.

The building was previously leased to modular house manufacturer TopHat, which did not take occupation. Its latest letting does not therefore mark the completion of new construction. Property reporting gives MPC2 BREEAM Outstanding certification and an EPC A rating, describing an assessed building specification rather than the future occupier’s measured electricity use, handling efficiency or transport emissions.

According to Logistics Matters, Super Smart Service has also taken space at Dove Valley Park, Nottingham and Fradley Park, with additional premises linked to an earlier commitment along the M1 corridor. The publication calculates roughly 2.16 million sq ft across its reported deals. That figure is a reported total of leased space, not proof that every building is fully fitted out, staffed and fulfilling customer orders. The business has not published an MPC2 commissioning programme in the information available.

Magna Park Corby provides access to the Midlands road distribution network, a significant factor for cross-border goods entering the UK and orders despatched to domestic retailers and consumers. Freight arriving by container or consolidated road transport often needs inventory checks, customs documentation where applicable, sorting and last-mile carrier handover. The extent to which a Corby facility participates in those steps depends on customer contracts and systems integration; the landlord’s statement does not describe the exact processes that will be installed.

Savills and M1 Agency acted on the Corby letting. Bruce Topley, Marq Logistics’ UK managing director, described the property as offering the scale and connections required by major national and international distribution operations. The next verifiable stages are tenant occupation and any announcement of the handling systems or customer contracts to be based there. Until those details emerge, the firm conclusions are the completed property letting, its published physical capacity and the independent report identifying the incoming operator.