Sunrise Completes Rugby 661 Refurbishment after Leasing the Building to Sainsbury's

Sunrise Real Estate (“Sunrise”) have completed refurbishment works on Rugby 661 and successfully handed over possession to Sainsbury’s Supermarkets Limited (“Sainsbury’s”). Sunrise acquired the asset from Gap Inc. in September 2022 as part of Gap’s plans to cease operations in the UK and immediately launched a full-scale refurbishment.

The 673,000 square foot asset sits off J1 of the M6 within the UK’s Golden Triangle of logistics and was one of the country's largest vacant warehouses.

The building is now a best-in-class logistics and distribution facility following a full strip-out of extensive mezzanine space and racking, material structural modifications, an innovative slab upgrade, the addition of a new roof and dock doors, a complete replacement of M&E systems and a full CAT A office refurbishment.

Sunrise continues to deliver on their commitment to developing sustainable buildings. Rugby 661 achieved a 99.6% recycling score from the demolition works, has been upgraded from EPC “D” to “A” and achieved a BREEAM “Very Good” certification. Other sustainability features include the removal of gas from the building and replacing it with electric alternatives, the addition of 18 electric vehicle charging spaces, a new employee wellness area and ensuring the roof is PV panel ready.

The asset comprises 46 loading doors, a 40-metre yard with parking for 55 HGVs, 369 parking spaces, 12-metre internal clear heights and up to 4 MVa of power.

Matthew Stevens, Head of Development at Sunrise, comments: “We are very pleased to deliver this high-quality asset for Sainsbury’s after a comprehensive refurbishment, whilst maintaining a real focus on sustainability. By giving the warehouse a new lease of life, we have saved around 21,000 tonnes of carbon compared to an equivalent new build. The building will provide much needed high quality logistics space within the Golden Triangle.”

DTRE and Cushman & Wakefield served as agents for Sunrise on Rugby 661. DLA Piper provided legal advice.