An international property investment management firm has snapped up a huge 1m sq ft logistics park planned for a site near Ipswich.

BentallGreenOak and its investment partner Equation Properties has acquired the 60-acre Orwell Logistics Park which has outline planning permission in place for huge new units to help serve a growing demand for warehousing space in the area.

Penn Commercial said it was "delighted" to have been chosen by the new owners as exclusive Suffolk agent for lettings on the £80m project after the sale deal went through in December 2020.

The scheme lies off the A14, eight miles from Felixstowe.

The first phase of the work on the four units planned for the site is set to begin in the spring of 2021. The four units will range in size from 88,000sq ft to 500,000sq ft.

The initial work involves buildings spanning a total of 546,000sq ft across three units, with an estimated completion date of spring 2022.

BentallGreenOak has more than 750 institutional clients and looks after around £36bn worth of assets around the world, ranging from office, logistics, multi-residential and retail property.

Equation Properties is a property development and investment company which is mainly focused on the distribution and industrial sector.

The new owners said the scheme will generate more than 300 jobs during the construction phase and it is anticipated that between 1,070 and 1,470 full-time jobs will be created from the park itself. These in turn are expected to generate somewhere between £35.83m and £48.97m in yearly wages.

It is expected the workers will contribute approximately £2.9m to £4m per year in the local economy on spending during the working day, they added.