McLaren signs 20-year Advanced Manufacturing Park deal

SUPERCAR maker McLaren has signed a 20-year deal to be based at Rotherham’s Advanced Manufacturing Park.

Harworth Group, which owns the land at Waverley, has announced the long-term lease with McLaren Automotive Limited on a new 75,000 sq ft bespoke unit, to be designed and built by Harworth.  

The new unit is being built on Harworth’s next phase of employment land known as AMPlify @ The AMP and work is due to start next month.

McLaren is expected to move into the new unit next summer.

The new purpose-built unit will act as McLaren’s new Composites Technology Centre, developing and building carbon-fibre tubs around which its vehicles are built. 

The move to the AMP follows McLaren’s announcement in February of this year to create 200 jobs at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District as part of its research partnership with the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, which is already based at the AMP. 

Locating the two bases near each other would help deliver the best results rom McLaren’s composite products, the firm said.

In a separate transaction, Harworth has also signed a 15-year lease with an unnamed advanced manufacturer for a new 11,044 sq ft unit at the same site.

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey is planning to build 130 homes on the Waverley development, after snapping up 8.17 acres of land.

This is Taylor Wimpey’s third purchase of land at Waverley, following previous deals in 2013 and 2015 of land for a total of 192 plots.

Owen Michaelson, chief executive of Harworth, said; “We are maintaining development momentum at the AMP and demand for new units remains high, with the McLaren deal demonstrating how the Harworth offering has evolved to incorporate the design and build of specialist purpose built units on behalf of blue-chip occupiers.

“The sale of residential plots to Taylor Wimpey marks our ninth sale of engineered housing land on Waverley. 

“This will add to the 650 homes that have already built and occupied on the site since 2012, reflecting good demand for our engineered brownfield land from housebuilders.”

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