Davies Turner buys 130,000 sq ft Heathrow hub for air cargo HQ

Davies Turner has secured a 130,000 sq ft logistics facility near London Heathrow Airport, one of the biggest property investments in the UK forwarder's recent history and the new headquarters of its air cargo division.

The numbers matter here. The site sits less than two miles from Heathrow's cargo terminal and just 500 yards from Junction 14 of the M25. That combination — the UK's premier air freight gateway on one side, the motorway ring on the other — is what drove the deal. For a forwarder, truck transit time from warehouse to cargo terminal is a cost line, and this location cuts it to minutes.

What does the facility actually contain?

The building breaks down into clear components:

• Roughly 70,000 sq ft of high-specification warehousing with a 12.5-metre clear internal height
• Two mezzanine floors adding a further 50,000 sq ft of operational space
• Five dock-loading doors and two level-access loading doors
• 10,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation

The 12.5-metre clearance is the figure forwarders will notice. It allows dense racking and high-cube unit load device handling, which raises throughput per square foot. Add the mezzanine space and Davies Turner Air Cargo gains roughly 120,000 sq ft of working capacity in a single building.

The site also carries green credentials. It holds BREEAM Excellent certification and an EPC A+ energy rating — increasingly relevant as UK occupiers face tightening energy performance rules on commercial property.

What does this change for shippers?

The acquisition is about capacity and operational flexibility at Britain's dominant air cargo hub. Davies Turner frames it as part of a long-term strategy to invest in logistics infrastructure that supports customer growth — in plain terms, more warehouse space, modern handling conditions and faster access to Heathrow's cargo operations for air freight customers.

James Wheatley, managing director of Davies Turner Air Cargo, said: "This acquisition represents a major milestone for Davies Turner Air Cargo and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the UK air freight market. Heathrow remains the country's premier international cargo gateway and this strategically located facility provides an exceptional platform from which to support our customers' future growth."

He added: "The investment gives us the capacity, infrastructure and operational flexibility required to continue developing our services for many years to come."

Why Heathrow still anchors UK air freight

The location decision tells its own story. Despite capacity constraints and ongoing debate about Heathrow expansion, the airport remains the country's main international cargo gateway, and forwarders continue to pay a premium to sit close to it. Scarcity of modern, high-clearance warehousing near LHR makes a completed 130,000 sq ft building near the cargo terminal a rare asset — one Davies Turner has chosen to own rather than lease, signalling a long-horizon bet on UK air freight volumes.

The group describes the UK's self-styled leading independent freight forwarding and logistics business's move as strengthening capacity, improving efficiency and providing a future-ready environment for staff and customers alike.

The facility is currently being prepared for occupation, with an official opening scheduled for later this year — giving Davies Turner Air Cargo a scaled-up Heathrow base from which to grow services into 2026 and beyond.