The home, garden and kitchenware retailer, which is owned by retail entrepreneur, Theo Paphitis, is transferring from an outsourced third party arrangement in Enfield to an in-house solution. Robert Dyas has initiated the change to modernise its supply chain and drive improvements in efficiency and capacity.

The transformation will also see sister company, Ryman, use the facility for deliveries to its London stores.

Lambert Smith Hampton acted on behalf of AXA Real Estate on the leasehold disposal of the unit, which comprises of 130,443 sq ft, plus a 58,811 sq ft mezzanine. A full repairing and insuring (FRI) lease was agreed for a term of 10 years with no breaks.  White Druce Brown acted for Robert Dyas.

Claire Madden, Director – Industrial & Logistics, at Lambert Smith Hampton commented: “With close proximity to the M1 and M25, Hemel Hempstead is the ideal location for Robert Dyas and Ryman to base their logistics hub. Lambert Smith Hampton has a strong track record disposing of warehouse units over 100,000 sq ft in Hemel Hempstead, so were ideally placed to advise on this project.”

Yasin Sadiq at AXA Real Estate said: “Lambert Smith Hampton assembled an experienced team to advise AXA on the re-letting of Hemel Portal, a key asset and significant void within the fund. The senior team were involved for the duration of the project and provided a unique offer of local presence, regional expertise and national exposure. Lambert Smith Hampton demonstrated a clear understanding of our requirements and their unrivalled market intelligence enabled them to proactively identify key requirements. This led to an early re-letting on excellent terms, to a good covenant with minimal void, before the refurbishment was even complete.”