Xpediator agrees lease of under-construction Netherlands warehouse

Freight management provider Xpediator announced on Monday that its subsidiary Delamode International Logistics has signed a 10-year lease for a new, purpose-built 180,000 square foot storage, fulfilment and distribution warehouse in Roosendaal, the Netherlands.

The AIM-traded firm said occupation would start in March 2023, once construction - including a “significant” solar element - was complete.

Xpediator said it had also agreed to take 6,500 pallet spaces in a partner warehouse for 12 months, also in Roosendaal, from March of this year, to meet existing Delamode customer demand, with the option to increase that to 15,000 pallet spaces.

Several of Delamode’s customers had now concluded, in a post-Brexit market, that splitting their stock between the UK and mainland Europe was the best course of action to maintain the shortest possible time to bring products to market.

Roosendaal was described by Xpediator as being “well-located” for the onward transport to the rest of continental Europe by road, and also “conveniently located” for the import of product via the two major container ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.

The lease would bring much-needed space to meet customer demand.

“The decision to take a long lease on this warehouse reflects demand and the post-Brexit strategies of our clients to hold stock in both the UK and mainland Europe and follows on from the recent opening of our new 200,000 square foot warehouse extension in Southampton,” said chief executive officer Wim Pauwels.

“We are a growing business, so this extension together with investments we are making across the business is all part of maximising our organic growth potential.

“We look forward to updating our shareholders on our overall 2021 performance later this month.”

Xpediator said it would provide a trading update for the 12 months ended 31 December at the end of January.

At 1050 GMT, shares in Xpediator were up 6.42% at 58p.