New owners hope to create jobs at former Wyeth manufacturing site in Havant

Kingsbridge Estates and Bridges Fund Management have bought a prominent 16.5-acre site in New Lane, previously occupied by Pfizer subsidiary John Wyeth & Brother.

They are working on plans for a comprehensive redevelopment of the site, which covers 300,000 sq ft of manufacturing and distribution space.

They hope to turn it into an industrial and logistics scheme that will support economic growth in the region – with the potential to create a significant number of local jobs.

A planning application for the scheme, which they say will be highly sustainable, will be submitted early in the new year.

Chris Fry, chief executive of Kingsbridge Estates, said: ‘This is a key employment site in the region and we look forward to continuing to work with Havant Borough Council and local stakeholders to bring forward a scheme.

‘Our plans, which will be shared shortly for public comment, will demonstrate our ambition to help meet local demand for high quality industrial and logistics space.

‘We see this investment as complementary to other regeneration projects that are being undertaken in Havant.

‘The site benefits from being located in close proximity to a potential workforce, and we will be proactively working with the council and training establishments to encourage local people to become involved in the construction phases of the development.’

Henry Pepper, investment director at Bridges Fund Management, said: ‘Across the UK, we’ve seen growing demand for industrial and logistics space as business adapts to changing consumer habits.

‘We’ve also seen from our own extensive experience of redeveloping industrial sites that a focus on sustainability not only minimises environmental impact; it also benefits tenants directly via reduced costs and improved wellbeing.

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‘So we’re excited to partner with Kingsbridge for this important project in Havant. We believe our new scheme will be well-placed to respond to the increased demand, thereby supporting local economic growth and job creation.’

John Wyeth & Brother will remain in occupation under a short-term lease while they complete the relocation of their operations.

Commercial property agents Kimmre and Lambert Smith Hampton represented Kingsbridge and Bridges, while CBRE represented the vendor.

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