Aberdeen Standard Investments’ AIPUT fund (Airport Industrial Property Unit Trust) has secured a lease extension to 2030 with Kuehne+Nagel for its Heathrow South Cargo Centre warehouse at Heathrow Airport, securing the site’s pivotal role as a nationally-important facility for the movement and storage of imported/exported pharmaceuticals and other medical products, such as life science-related IT equipment.   Heathrow South Cargo Centre is one of a number of AIPUT’s locations working to boost the nation’s resilience in the fight against Covid-19.

Kuehne+Nagel – the world’s second largest airfreight forwarder – is an established customer of AIPUT, having operated out of the 208,000 sq ft Heathrow South Cargo Centre since 2014.  GlaxoSmithKline is the leading customer of the warehouse facility, which represents a significant share of the UK’s pharmaceutical imports and exports.  Kuehne+Nagel is joined at the Heathrow South Cargo centre by Do&Co Catering and GE Aviation.

Heathrow Airport is the largest UK import hub for pharmaceuticals and medical products, handling up to 41% by value of the UK’s total pharmaceutical imports.  AIPUT has supported the business growth of Kuehne+Nagel’s specialist air-cargo divisions on a number of occasions in recent years.  The company also operates AIPUT’s Perishables Handling Centre at Hatton Cross, a 72,500 sq on-airport temperature-controlled warehouse facility specifically designed to process imported food airfreight from all over the world.