Munters for Munster in monster industrial letting deals

The move to a larger premises in Cork allows the Swedish-based Munters to expand further into Europe

Unit 4 Anchor Business Park Little Island C&W Kuehnne + Nagel

Deals on two of the largest Munster region industrial lettings in recent years, totalling over 250,000sq ft, have been scored by rival business parks in Cork’s Little Island.

The lettings include one to an expanding company Munters, which specialises in cooling equipment for data centres, while the other is to logistics and freight firm Crane Worldwide.

Munters is set to move into the 129,077sq ft Unit 7A/7B, Anchor Business Park, Little Island.

Munters acquired Carrigaline-based firm EDPAC two years ago for a sum of €29m and specialises in data centre cooling solutions, close control, air handling, and heat recovery systems.

Already strong in North America, the acquisition and move to a larger premises in Cork allows the Swedish-based Munters to expand further into Europe — along with its burgeoning data centre sector.

The company currently operates in 30 countries.

Unit 1 Harbour Gate Business Park - Lisney

The major Munters deal brings the Anchor Business Park close to full occupation, according to letting agent Philip Horgan with Cushman & Wakefield.

Mr Horgan said it is one of the very largest in the industrial and logistics sectors, in the greater Cork region, in recent years.

The building being taken on by Munters, No 7A/7B is expected to be handed over by the end of this year/Q4 2024.

It’s very practically on a size par with another just concluded 128,000sq ft letting, via agent Ed Hanafin of Lisney, of Unit 1 at Harbour Gate Business Park — also in Little Island.

On an 8.4 acre site, it was just taken over by expanding logistics firm Crane Worldwide - which closes out the entire 200,000sq ft Harbour Gate Business Park.

Other occupiers at Harbour Gate include CEVA Logistics and ProSys.

“The Industrial and Logistics (I&L) sector has had a strong couple of years, underpinned by robust occupier demand and solid rental growth,” commented Cushman & Wakefield’s Philip Horgan.

Mr Horgan added that this is evidenced at Anchor Business Park “as it is all but fully let”.

Buildings here have a clear internal height of 14m, are built to a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (Leed) silver accreditation and an A-rated BER standard.

Meanwhile, global transport and logistics company Kuehne+Nagel — which is headquartered in Switzerland — has leased Unit 4 at the Anchor Park, which extends to 75,600sq ft.

In Ireland since 1996, and with a presence in Cork, Galway and Dublin, Kuehne+Nagel operates internationally across 1,300 locations as a key player in sea and air freight worldwide.

Also based in Anchor Business Park is the PFH Technology Group (PFH), recently acquired by Ricoh Europe, and occupiers of Unit 5 — which is close to 40,000sq ft.

IT solutions providers PFH, leaders in the business, also have offices in the nearby Eastgate Business Park — as well as in Dublin and Galway.

Separately, there is a letting agreed on the 33,600sq ft Unit 6, which is currently under construction.

The contracts are due to be exchanged in the coming weeks, with an expected completion date in early Q4 2024.

The two major occupier deals involving Munters and Crane Worldwide bring the wider Little Island area closer to near full-development state, with few undeveloped sites remaining.

Among them is one redevelopment site acquired by the JCD Group — where a third party appeal to An Bord Pleanála has just been lifted — close to a data centre site also being developed by the JCD Group.

However, its intended occupier has not yet been revealed.

FOR MORE DETAILS: Contact Cushman & Wakefield on 021-4275454 or visit their website www.cushmanwakefield.com; Call Lisney Estate Agents on 021-4275079, email them at [e-mail], or visit their website www.lisney.com.