German-headquartered logistics provider DB Schenker continues to make progress on the development of its Irish operations with some €94 million invested to date on four big warehouses across the country. Three of these facilities – at Shannon, Leixlip and Baldonnell- are already fully operational while construction of the fourth property at Premier Business Park is set to commence shortly. The growth of DB Schenker’s business in Ireland is being driven in the main by demand from the healthcare and technology sectors, and the company now employs 800 across the country.
DB Schenker’s largest Irish facility is at the Liffey Business Campus in Leixlip, Co Kildare. Having paid developer Michael O’Flynn’s O’Flynn Group and BlackRock €5.7 million for a 14.2-acre site at the former Hewlett Packard campus, the company engaged PJ Hegarty & Sons as main contractor on the development of a 220,000sq ft facility comprising 200,000sq ft of high bay warehousing and 20,000sq ft of grade-A office accommodation. The site also provides additional land for 50,000sq ft of future expansion when required. The Leixlip unit is LEED-Gold certified with sustainability features that include solar PV panels, EV-charging stations, infrastructure for future expansion of sustainability systems, an on-site gym and cycling facilities for employees.
In 2020, DB Schenker acquired 6.2 acres of development land at Shannon Free Zone East from Shannon Commercial Properties. It has since developed 40,000sq ft of warehousing and 12,000sq ft of grade-A office accommodation on the site.
In early 2022, the company expanded its Irish operations further with an agreement to lease a new 130,000sq ft facility at Baldonnell Business Park in Dublin. The facility consists of a high-bay warehouse space along with grade-A office accommodation across two floors. DB Schenker invested about €3 million in a specialised fit-out of the facility.
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Last week, the company completed the acquisition for €4.5 million of 6.5 acres of land at Premier Business Park on Ballycoolin Road in Dublin 11. The site, which overlooks the M50 motorway, will be developed as a new 45,000sq ft land transport hub comprising a warehouse and two floors of grade-A office space.
Commenting on DB Schenker’s activity and investment in Ireland to date, the company’s head of real estate for the UK and Ireland, Eoghan Turner, said: “The last three years have seen a period of major growth at DB Schenker which has resulted in significant new investment in Irish real estate, as well as the upgrading of our property portfolio across the UK and Ireland. We will continue to concentrate on similar high-quality, sustainable assets as we go into the future.”
