London, UK, November 2024: Associated British Ports, the UK's leading ports operator, has announced a strategic agency partnership with Jones Lang LaSalle, a leading global commercial real estate and investment management company, to help promote ABP's sizeable and diverse property portfolio across its 21 port locations in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Under the partnership, ABP and JLL will be raising market awareness of the strategic importance of ports in future-proofing the businesses of occupiers as ABP continues to invest in acquisitions and regeneration. ABP offers a wide range of available commercial property and land opportunities, including industrial, warehousing, open storage, and development land. Together, these provide tri-modal connectivity and a unique level of resilience for a vast range of businesses.

Henrik L. Pedersen, ABP CEO, said in an article published by ABP, on its official page: “When businesses choose to locate on ABP’s port estate, they are choosing the future. Our ports are at the epicentre of building a greener tomorrow, providing businesses with access to multimodal distribution links, urban skills centres and the ability to plug into a vibrant community of like-minded industry partners, committed to clean growth, decarbonisation and energy generation.”

Melinda Cross, JLL’s Head of Industrial and Logistics, said in an article of ABP: "This partnership with ABP represents a significant opportunity to bring cutting-edge industrial and logistics spaces to the market. JLL's extensive network and understanding of occupier needs will help showcase ABP's diverse portfolio, which offers businesses resilient, future-proof locations and emerging clean energy hubs. This collaboration aligns with our commitment to driving sustainable growth and supporting the evolving needs of modern supply chains."

ABP stands as one of the UK’s largest commercial landowners, boasting a portfolio of 8,600 acres, including over 2,400 acres of development land and a rent roll of £130 million. Their locations offer excellent development opportunities, such as the newly acquired 227 acres at Stallingborough Interchange in the Port of Immingham, over 120 acres of development land, and over 200,000 sq. ft. of shed space currently available at the Port of Newport. There is also excellent regeneration potential available at Marchwood Industrial Park in the Port of Southampton.

These locations offer excellent access to major distribution hubs through road, rail, and sea. ABP is at the forefront of developing clean growth hubs, offering competitive and sustainable solutions to help businesses on port estates prepare for the future.

In addition to focusing on traditional occupiers and advanced manufacturing, leveraging the benefits of freeport status on key land areas, sustainability remains central to ABP’s operations. Earlier this year, ABP unveiled ambitious plans for the Port of Newport, emphasising energy initiatives such as harnessing wind and solar power. These efforts will eventually connect to hydrogen electrolysis and e-fuels manufacturing plants. The development will also incorporate low-carbon rail and marine logistics, with the Newport clean growth hub said to add hundreds of highly productive jobs.

ABP Property appointed a cross-regional expert team to manage the competitive tendering process for selecting a national property agent partner: Robert Morton, Humber Lead Asset Manager; Jeff Gibb, Lead Asset Manager, WSSP; and Tim Hook, Lead Asset Manager in Southampton.

Speaking about the selection, they commented: “We selected JLL because we were impressed by their expertise and in particular their strong UK-wide coverage and experience in the energy and advanced manufacturing sector. We would like to congratulate them on their success and look forward to working together to deliver value for local businesses and the communities surrounding our ports.”

The 21 ports operated by ABP in England, Scotland, and Wales contribute £15 billion to the UK economy every year, employing 2,500 people directly and supporting over 200,000 in supply chains.

With this deal, the strategic partnership is expected to bring additional promotion and development to ABP's massive property portfolio across all 21 UK ports. The important thing about these ports, which will be represented under this partnership, is their role in future-proofing business. Sustainability and clean growth initiatives also rank high among the key goals. With ABP owning a substantial amount of land and JLL's expertise in industrial and logistics space, this partnership is sure to boost economic growth by creating jobs and offering support to the changing requirements of today's modern supply chains.