Premier Farnell, the technology distributor, today announces investment in a 360,000 sq foot warehouse at Muse Development’s Logic Leeds, within a Leeds City Council Enterprise Zone, retaining £650m in revenue and jobs in the Yorkshire region.

The site, based off junction 45 of the M1, will stock over 420,000 products within the 360,000 sq foot facility and has the potential for up to one million square feet of distribution capacity as the business continues to respond to market growth opportunities.

Graham McBeth, President of Premier Farnell said; “This is a significant investment in a modern, automated warehouse, made possible by the opportunities for growth in the market and the support of our American parent company, Avnet. I am delighted that we are retaining our presence in Leeds.

Nick Wilkins, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Premier Farnell added; “Premier Farnell has a strong history in the Leeds area and we have great confidence in the Yorkshire workforce. This new warehouse, with great transport links, retains jobs in the region and will allow us to grow to support market demand.”

Logic Leeds sits within one of the Leeds City region Enterprise Zones which is supported by Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Leeds City Council, the Department of Communities and Local Government. Muse Developments has partnered up with Sheffield based Bowmer and Kirkland to build the state-of-the-art distribution warehouse. Works commenced in early February 2018, with completion scheduled for the end of the year. The site is expected to be operational by late 2019 / early 2020.

Roger Marsh OBE, Chair of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) said: “We are delighted that Premier Farnell will enhance their high service distribution of technology products and solutions from what will be the largest ever warehouse development in Leeds. Our key industrial sectors are changing rapidly and the ability to embrace and adopt fast emerging digital technology and the Internet of Things, whereby computing devices are embedded in everyday objects to send and receive data, will improve our productivity and define our future economic identity. This decision means Premier Farnell – a global tech leader - can sit at the heart of this opportunity and pioneer this strategy from Leeds City Region Enterprise Zone.”

Cllr Richard Lewis, Leeds City Council Executive Member for Regeneration, Transport and Planning commented: “It is great news that Premier Farnell is remaining in Leeds, protecting hundreds of jobs that could otherwise have been lost from the city. The Council has worked hard with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority to retain the company in the city, and are pleased that they have decided to make such a substantial investment giving a strong platform from which to grow their business moving forward.”

James Scott, Development Director at Muse, commented: “This is fantastic news and another significant milestone in the Logic Leeds story. The decision by Premier Farnell, a worldwide player in the electronics distribution industry, to come to Logic Leeds is testament to the qualities of our development.”

Premier Farnell’s existing warehouse is in Armley, Leeds, with an additional overflow stocking facility located nearby. In the last 12 months Premier Farnell has invested more than £60m in additional inventory across the globe, instigating a Europe-wide search for a new warehouse facility to support demand. Premier Farnell is now working with Leeds City Council and the Local Planning Authority to agree the future of the existing warehouse building and to develop transport solutions for employees moving to the new site.

Premier Farnell operates as Farnell element14 in the UK and Europe.

Ravi Pagar, Regional Director – South Asia, element14 Asia-Pacific said, “I’m excited about this move to a new office in Bangalore which I view as an important part of our overall global business strategy - being present locally to support the local businesses, whilst also providing direct access to customers through digital channels. The new office will establish more Centres of Excellence in India, thus enabling faster and closer in-region support to our customers. This also means faster turnaround for technical queries and even face to face meetings with the technology experts at element14.”

element14 will be officially opening the office in Bangalore on Friday 6^th October. Graham McBeth, President, Premier Farnell, who will join the Bangalore office on this occasion, said, “This is a great occasion and we are very proud of our operations here in India. I believe this is a market that has huge opportunities and we are incredibly impressed with the level of talent available within Bangalore. Expanding into a larger office will allow us to invest further in new talent, creating new opportunities and helping us meet our objectives, both within India, and globally. I am extremely proud of the service our colleagues based in India provide to our internal organisation, customers and suppliers across the world and delighted to be providing this fantastic new office from which they can grow the business further.”

element14 is committed to strengthening its position in India as a trusted one-stop source of engineering knowledge and solutions for design innovation. In the past year, the company has invested significantly in the country to ensure that it provides customers with personalized and continuous support. element14’s has offices in India in Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Kolkotta and Ahmedabad.