Friday December 13 2024
Swindon & Wiltshire News
Commercial real estate company The RO Group has acquired a 12-acre development site in Swindon.
The site is adjacent to the Home Farm site that the group acquired in July. The site could be used for roadside retail, industrial, logistics and storage – bringing jobs to the area.
The most recent off market purchase from a local landowner extends the group’s total site ownership to 21 acres.
The site forms a key part of Swindon Borough Council’s New Eastern Villages development plan. This comprises one of the largest greenfield developments in the UK and consists of circa 8,000 new homes, new schools, employment spaces and community facilities.
The RO plans to develop a scheme that “will create the quality accommodation that both local and national businesses need to expand their operations in the region, delivering new jobs and attracting investment.”
The group has a successful history of development in Swindon, having previously developed the RO24 industrial scheme at South Marston Park.
Another blueprint for the group’s new development in Swindon is its hugely successful Solstice Park development in Amesbury, a well-established node which was carefully designed to accommodate a diverse range of businesses in industrial and logistics, trade, and drive through retail.
Investment director Nick Cashmore said: “We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of this additional site to grow our ownership in such a well connected location, with great development potential. The acquisition demonstrates our ability to transact quickly when we identify attractive opportunities.
“This further acquisition underpins our commitment to a prominent location in Wiltshire, increases the scale of our ownership, and opens the door to several different uses such as industrial, logistics, trade, storage and retail.
“We continue to seek new land opportunities with a focus on development sites with excellent roadside prominence throughout the Midlands and South of England.”
The prominent site is located just off the A420 Swindon to Oxford Road, with a registered 22,500 cars per day passing Home Farm. It also offers excellent connectivity to the M4.
Occupiers close by include the distribution hubs for Amazon and Iceland as well as retailers such Sainsbury’s, Dunelm, Hobby Craft – at St Margaret’s Retail Park – and Go Outdoors.
The RO Group was advised by Loveday and Osborne Clarke on the transaction.
