Warehousing & Logistics in Nottingham
Find and compare verified warehouse, 3PL, and transport providers across East Midlands — where the M1 (J24-J26), A453 (to EMA and EMG), A52 meet.
About Nottingham
Nottingham is the largest city in the East Midlands, with a resident population of 329,300 (ONS mid-2023) and a wider Built-Up Area of 768,638 (2021 census). It sits on the northern edge of the UK's Golden Triangle and draws on a functional urban area of more than 919,000 people. The big structural advantage of Nottingham as a logistics location is that it combines city-scale labour and costs with 13-mile proximity to SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway (SLP-EMG), the UK's flagship multi-modal inland port.
Nottingham sits inside the market Savills describes as the country's most active big-box region. The East Midlands accounted for over a fifth of national industrial and logistics take-up in 2025, with build-to-suit activity making up 44 percent of regional take-up and 31 percent of the UK total (Savills East Midlands Logistics, January 2026). That scale of demand is reflected in the occupier roll call within 25 minutes of the city: Games Workshop, Amazon, DHL, XPO Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel, Maersk and The Very Group are all live at SLP-EMG, alongside rail freight terminal operator Maritime Intermodal.
The city is not only a dormitory for EMG. Nottingham has its own established industrial estates at Colwick, Netherfield, Beeston and along the A610 and A611 corridors, serving providers who need smaller and mid-range units closer to urban demand. Pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics is a genuine regional specialism, anchored by the 279-acre Boots campus at Beeston, home of The Boots Group since 1927 (Boots UK). In May 2024 the city became part of the new East Midlands Combined County Authority, giving it a regional mayor and a stronger voice in transport, skills and infrastructure decisions.
Why this region
Golden Triangle Access Without Golden Triangle Costs
Nottingham sits at the northern edge of the Golden Triangle, 13 miles from SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway and 20 minutes from East Midlands Airport. Operators get access to the UK's busiest big-box corridor, but rents and labour costs are typically lower than at the Magna Park Lutterworth or DIRFT cores further south. Savills data shows the East Midlands accounted for over a fifth of national take-up in 2025, driven heavily by build-to-suit demand (Savills East Midlands Logistics, January 2026). For shippers that need scale at Grade A parks plus a deep secondary market of smaller city-based units, Nottingham offers both within a 30-minute radius. That combination is genuinely hard to replicate elsewhere in the Midlands.
East Midlands Airport - UK's Largest Dedicated Air Freight Hub
East Midlands Airport (EMA) is 20 minutes from Nottingham and is the UK's number one airport for express air freight, handling the largest volume of dedicated cargo tonnage in the country. Airport owner MAG and Prologis have a partnership to develop Prologis Park East Midlands Interchange adjacent to the runway, designated as an East Midlands Freeport tax site. The partnership is expected to unlock up to £1 billion of investment and around 2,000 jobs, with Prologis forecasting EMA cargo volumes to grow 54 percent by 2043 (Prologis / MAG, Jan 2025). For a Nottingham-based shipper that needs overnight express into Europe or transatlantic cargo, this is the natural gateway. The planning submission was updated with North West Leicestershire District Council in November 2025.
Deep Labour Market With Two Major Universities
Nottingham is a genuine graduate city. The University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University produce around 60,000 students between them, feeding a labour pool that runs well beyond logistics into life sciences, digital and pharmaceutical research. The Nottingham Built-Up Area has 768,638 residents (2021 census) and the wider Functional Urban Area reaches 919,484. SEGRO's own reach analysis notes around one million people live within a 30-minute drive of East Midlands Gateway, giving occupiers a large and diverse workforce to draw from. Major local employers including The Boots Group, Games Workshop, Experian, Capital One and Boots Opticians anchor a skilled workforce and keep operator turnover competitive against the Golden Triangle core.
Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Logistics Strength
Nottingham has a deep pharmaceutical and healthcare cluster, anchored by the 279-acre Boots campus at Beeston. The campus has been Boots' home since 1927 and is where Ibuprofen was formulated (Boots UK). In August 2025 Boots was spun out of Walgreens Boots Alliance and now operates as The Boots Group, a private standalone company owned by Sycamore Partners and the Pessina family, headquartered in the UK. The cluster supports GDP-compliant warehousing, cold chain, controlled drugs handling, clinical trials distribution and pharmaceutical returns. Kuehne+Nagel's SEGRO EMG facility includes a 40,000 sq ft temperature-controlled area specifically for pharmaceutical growth (SEGRO). For life sciences and healthcare shippers, the depth of specialist capability in and around Nottingham is unusual.
East Midlands Freeport - Customs and Tax Advantages
The East Midlands Freeport, centred on EMA and EMG, is the UK's only inland Freeport. Operators within designated tax sites benefit from Stamp Duty Land Tax relief, enhanced structures and buildings allowances, business rates relief and National Insurance contributions relief, alongside customs site advantages such as tariff suspension and simplified import procedures. The stated ambition is 20,000 jobs and billions in investment (East Midlands Freeport). Prologis Park East Midlands Interchange is the most prominent new tax site coming forward, with up to 135,000 sq m of industrial logistics and advanced manufacturing space planned across the site and £132 million of annual GVA projected (Logistics Manager, Jan 2025). For importers, re-exporters and high-tariff categories, this meaningfully shifts the landed cost equation.
Logistics capacity availability
Overview of warehousing and transport capacity across the region
Warehouse market overview
The Nottingham capacity picture splits into two tiers. Inside the city, established industrial estates at Colwick, Netherfield, Beeston and along the A610 and A611 corridors deliver smaller and mid-range units from around 5,000 to 200,000 sq ft, with moderate vacancy and steady turnover. These sites suit operators who need proximity to urban demand or to Nottingham-based shippers, but they rarely carry the specification or size that national 3PLs are chasing. The primary big-box capacity sits 13 miles south at SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway, a 700-acre scheme with consent for up to 6 million sq ft. Ten of eleven warehouse plots were let by 2021, with units ranging up to 694,608 sq ft (DHL) and a 33-metre high bay on DHL's Plot 12 (Logistics Manager). The Prologis Park East Midlands Interchange, 135,000 sq m of new Grade A space within the Freeport tax zone, is progressing through planning with North West Leicestershire District Council (Nov 2025 submission). At a regional level the picture has shifted. Savills records East Midlands vacancy at 10.16 percent in January 2026, with 14.88 million sq ft available across 64 units, but 2025 regional take-up still reached over a fifth of the UK total. Translation: there is choice for larger occupiers that was not there in 2022, but the good Grade A stock is still transacting fast.
New developments
Prologis Park East Midlands Interchange (Prologis / MAG). Up to 135,000 sq m of industrial logistics and advanced manufacturing space next to East Midlands Airport, designated East Midlands Freeport tax site. Up to £1 billion of investment, around 2,000 jobs, £132 million annual GVA. Updated planning submission made to North West Leicestershire District Council on 14 November 2025 (Prologis). Games Workshop Factory 4, Willow Road, Nottingham. £9 million new factory, scheduled to open Spring 2026, consolidating packing operations out of existing Willow Road factories to free space for tooling and injection moulding expansion over at least five years (East Midlands Business Link, June 2024). Games Workshop Paint Plant, Easter Park, Nottingham. New paint production facility projected to grow staff from 13 to 50 with a 3,000-litre paint tank and supporting plant (Frontline Gaming, Nov 2024). M&S new East Midlands national distribution centre. Announced August 2025, expected to create thousands of jobs across the region (Insider Media). Panattoni East Midlands pipeline. In August 2025 Panattoni confirmed 1.5 million sq ft of East Midlands schemes coming forward (Insider Media).
Transport capacity
Nottingham is served by the full national and global 3PL roster at SEGRO EMG: DHL Supply Chain (close to 900,000 sq ft across two units including a 694,608 sq ft high-bay mega-shed), XPO Logistics (around 600,000 sq ft), Kuehne+Nagel (195,547 sq ft Overland hub with a 40,000 sq ft temperature-controlled pharma area), Maersk (600,000 sq ft) and Amazon. The Very Group's 850,000 sq ft Skygate fulfilment centre, also on the park, processes around 633,000 items a week across 6.8 million SKUs on behalf of Very.co.uk and Littlewoods. Alongside the global roster, Nottingham has a dense local haulage community covering general pallet networks, container drayage from Felixstowe, Immingham and London Gateway plus temperature-controlled distribution for the pharmaceutical cluster. Maritime Intermodal operates the SRFI rail terminal at EMG for services to Felixstowe, London Gateway and Southampton.
Specialist capabilities
pharmaceutical and healthcare logistics, GDP-compliant warehousing, cold chain, air freight handling (EMA), national distribution, e-commerce fulfilment, rail freight / intermodal, automotive parts, textiles and fashion, FMCG, returns management, customs-bonded warehousing, Freeport customs zones
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FAQs
Here are the answers to some of our most frequently asked questions from transport businesses, hauliers & couriers. If you can't find the answer to your question, check out our FAQs page or contact the team.
Nottingham sits on the northern edge of the Golden Triangle. SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway is 13 miles south-west, reachable in 25 minutes via the M1 and A453. The 700-acre park has consent for up to 6 million sq ft, a Strategic Rail Freight Interchange that runs up to 16 trains per day and is adjacent to East Midlands Airport, the UK's largest dedicated air freight hub (SEGRO).
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