The huge former Kensey Foods factory in Cornwall has gone on the market after the plant shut with the loss of 650 jobs.
Described as “one of the largest, premier manufacturing sites” in the Duchy, it is up for sale or to let following its acquisition earlier this year by M7 Real Estate, a leading European regional property fund and asset management business.
The factory on the Pennygillam Industrial Estate, at Launceston, saying it had been loss-making for six years.
The factory had produced a wide range of chilled desserts - including custard tarts, cream cakes, fruit pies, crumbles, tarts and sponge puddings - for some of the UK’s leading retailers including Tesco.
After Samworth Brothers pulled out, the land was acquired by M7 Real Estate as part of its ongoing property acquisition programme. It brought in Vickery Holman to either sell or find tenants for the site.
The land occupies a prime location on the Devon/Cornwall border, with transport links on the A38 and property consultancy Vickery Holman said it is “likely to appeal to businesses looking to move into state-of-the-art food manufacturing facilities with adjoining office space”.
The site is being offered as two separate facilities. K1 is a large industrial warehouse facility totalling 150,000sq ft and coming with 1.4 acres of land. K2 comprises a modern food manufacturing facility in more than 44,000sq ft.
Occupying a prominent site on the Pennygillam Industrial Estate, the property is close to the A30, giving easy access to the M5, which Vickery Holman thinks will tempt potential purchasers.
“We’re delighted to be handling this exceptional site on behalf of M7 Real Estate,” said Will Oldrieve, property agent for Vickery Holman “Splitting such a large site has opened it up to more potential occupiers.
“It’s not often that such a high-profile site becomes available so we’re expecting high levels of interest from inside and outside the region.
“There is the scope to develop the site further as some of the outlying buildings lend themselves to development.”
Alan Treloar, head of agency at Vickery Holman, added: “With Vickery Holman’s long-established reputation and with offices in Truro, Plymouth, Exeter and Bristol, we are well placed to work with M7 to find occupiers for these sites, which would be a welcome boost to the local economy.”
