Browne Jacobson’s retail lawyers advise Wilko on its strategic £48m sale and leaseback of Nottinghamshire distribution centre to DHL
National law firm Browne Jacobson has advised long standing retail client, Wilko on the sale and leaseback of its Nottinghamshire distribution centre in Worksop to logistics specialist DHL for £48m.
National law firm Browne Jacobson has advised long standing retail client, Wilko on the sale and leaseback of its Nottinghamshire distribution centre in Worksop to logistics specialist DHL for £48m.
The deal is part of a 15-year partnership agreement with DHL and will give the everyday household and garden retail giant the opportunity to release capital for its future investment plans including, improving its proposition and its consumer experience across all of its 402 stores and its digital channel.
Family-owned business Wilko started as a hardware store in 1930 and provides its customers with simple, affordable and reliable products and tools for home and garden improvements.
DHL was founded in 1969 and is considered the world’s leading logistics business, employing over 380,000 people across 220 countries.
The deal was run by Browne Jacobson retail property partner, Sarah Parkinson and assisted by senior partner, Caroline Green, leading a team on the commercial legal aspects.
Sarah Parkinson said: “This partnering between a fantastic value retail brand and an excellent logistics business presents multiple mutual benefits including scale in property and warehousing. “As always, Wilko has its family customers at the heart of what it does, so this move means they are even more committed to meeting rapidly evolving customer demands.
“We are delighted to have supported this collaboration and helped Wilko with its revised strategy.”
Wilko Chief Executive Office, Jerome Saint-Marc added: “It’s standard business practice to constantly review how we manage our finances. This property deal with DHL represents long-term stability for us and our team members and is the right response to the current market conditions and our priorities.
“We’re making smart choices to trade a business and allow us to continue to invest in our long-term transformational strategy. Wilko remains family owned and continues to focus on helping hard working families to be the best that they can be, delivering great value products to our customers.”
Wilko Group Development Director, James Dorling added: “I would also like to extend my thanks to Sarah and Caroline who worked tirelessly with us on this important deal. Having worked with them for many years, they truly understand the wilko DNA and our aspirations. As usual, the advice they provided was strategically sound and their knowledge of the ever-changing retail market was spot on, which meant all parties achieved the right outcome.”
Browne Jacobson’s national retail, leisure and logistics lawyers work with many house-hold name brands that cut across various sectors including fashion and beauty, logistics, retail, sports and leisure, restaurants bars and hotels. The practice is ranked by independent legal directory, Chambers & Partners and advises on all areas of law including advertising and marketing, construction, data protection, commercial contracts, employment, intellectual property, IT and outsourcing, corporate finance and real estate.
Author

Expertise
You may be interested in...
Legal Update
Pitfalls for retailers to avoid when offering access to ‘buy now, pay later’ products
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s Manchester dealmakers advise Spatial Global on its acquisition of Heathrow based freight specialist Hollyport Logistics
Legal Update
Product distribution – how to protect yourself from an early exit
Legal Update
Biodiversity Net Gain — Government publishes consultation response
Opinion
‘Awaab’s Law’- a significant amendment to the Social Housing Regulation Bill
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s real estate specialists advise Chesterfield Borough Council on prestigious new development - One Waterside Place
Opinion
Will fixed recoverable costs in housing conditions claims see the light of day?
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advise High Peak Borough Council on future high street funded acquisition as part of Buxton regeneration vision
Opinion
Supreme court rules on retail tenant's service charge bill
Guide
2023: Horizon scanning in construction
Legal Update
The importance of understanding the transitional provisions under the Electronic Communications Code
Published Article
Consumer duty part 3 - 'The drill-down' into the 'cross-cutting' rules
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - EV charging points: contractual and liability issues to be aware of
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Grant Funding and Collaboration Agreements
In this session, we examined the legal framework around grant funded collaborations and discussed the key risks to be aware of, including IP ownership and compliance with grant terms.
On-Demand
Automotive webinar - Commercial Contracts
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises sustainable waste solution provider Covanta Europe on its new Wellingborough based aggregate processing plant
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
From associate to partner in an investment lifecycle - Ryan's story
On-Demand
The UK's green agenda - the outcomes of COP27 and actions since COP26
Press Release - #BeingBrowneJacobson
Browne Jacobson helps the Civil Aviation Authority take off with its modernisation masterplan
Legal Update
Hillside – the end of drop in applications?
On 2 November 2022, the Supreme Court handed down its judgment in the much awaiting case of Hillside Parks Ltd v Snowdonia National Park Authority [2022] UKSC 30. The Court’s judgment suggests that the long established practice of using drop-in applications is in fact much more restricted than previously thought. This judgment therefore has significant implications for both the developers and local planning authorities.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s retail lawyers advise Wilko on its strategic £48m sale and leaseback of Nottinghamshire distribution centre to DHL
National law firm Browne Jacobson has advised long standing retail client, Wilko on the sale and leaseback of its Nottinghamshire distribution centre in Worksop to logistics specialist DHL for £48m.
Press Release
Suzanne Harlow joins Browne Jacobson as Non-Executive Director
Law firm Browne Jacobson is pleased to announce that Suzanne Harlow has been appointed Non-Executive Director of its Retail, Consumer & Logistics sector.
Legal Update
Is this the end for free returns?
Earlier in the year a number of fashion retailers, boldly announced the introduction of a charging fee for returning any product purchased via their online store. Yet, despite this commercial, and perhaps somewhat controversial decision, at least one major fashion giant that adopted this approach has recorded ‘historic highs’ in its September profits. Browne Jacobson partner, Cat Driscoll who heads up the firm’s commercial team in Manchester and is also head of its Fashion & Beauty sector discusses whether this change has put the average consumer off and whether the days of free returns are long gone.
Published Article
AI generated designs on retail products
Every AI will have its own terms of use. DALL·E 2’s Terms of Use dated 3 November 2022 specify that as between a user and Open AI, a user owns their prompts and uploads. Open AI also assigns to the user all rights in any images generated by DALL·E 2 for that user (subject to the user complying with those Terms of Use, and to a licence to use inputs and output to develop and improve the services).
Press Release
Former Mace Group Legal Director joins Browne Jacobson as Non-Executive Director of its Construction & Real Estate sector
Browne Jacobson has appointed Amy Chapman, the former Group Legal Director of global built environment experts Mace Group, as its first Non-Executive Director (NED) of its Construction & Real Estate sector strategy board.
Published Article
Consumer duty part 2 - 'The drill-down' into the 'cross-cutting' rules
This article is the second in a series to help firms take a practical approach to complying with the ‘cross-cutting rules’ within the new ‘Consumer Duty’ (CD) framework. The article summarises what it seems the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is seeking to achieve from the applicable rules (section 2 below) and potential complications arising from legal considerations (section 3).
Press Release
Browne Jacobson advises Bromley Council on the first social housing initiative of its kind to tackle homelessness
Published Article
Luxury brands and sustainability – The challenges and solutions
The fashion industry has a mountain to climb when it comes to sustainability. More than 8% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the apparel and footwear industries, and approaching three-fifths of all clothing ends up in incinerators or landfill within a year of being made.
Legal Update
Trigger happy when directors’ duties are the target?
In a judgment handed down yesterday the Supreme Court has affirmed that a so called “creditor duty” exists for directors such that in some circumstances company directors are required to act in accordance with, or to consider the interests of creditors. Those circumstances potentially arise when a company is insolvent or where there is a “probability” of an insolvency. We explore below the “trigger” for such a test to apply and its implications.
Legal Update
The Retained EU Law
Created at the end of the Brexit transition period, Retained EU Law is a category of domestic law that consists of EU-derived legislation retained in our domestic legal framework by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This was never intended to be a permanent arrangement as parliament promised to deal with retained EU law through the Retained EU Law (Revocation and Reform) Bill (the “Bill”).
Opinion
Rent arrears post-Covid: What are the landlord’s options?
Since the beginning of the pandemic, landlords and tenants have experienced significant limitations in the way rent arrears could be pursued. We first saw the moratorium on the recovery of Covid related arrears, and more recently we’ve experienced the implementation of the Covid arrears arbitration scheme.
Opinion
Sequana: Supreme clarification on the duty owed to creditors
The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed the BTI v Sequana appeal and reviewed the existence, content and engagement of the so-called ‘creditor duty’; being the point at which the interest of creditors is said to intrude upon the decision-making of directors of companies in financial distress.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson appoints its first Non-Executive to Chair to support its corporate sector strategy board
Opinion
IR35 rules to be scrapped from April 2023
The Chancellor’s recent mini-budget provided a significant announcement for business as it was confirmed that the off-payroll working rules (known as “IR35”) put in place for public and private sector businesses from 2017 and 2021 will be scrapped from April 2023.
Published Article
The problematic transition to electric vehicles - what is the impact on manufacturing
It was reported in May 2022 that the BMW-owned manufacturer had been forced to put a temporary stop on the production of all manual transmission vehicles due to the global semi-conductor shortage and the war in Ukraine. Mini stated that the move was made in order to "ensure production stability".
Press Release - Careers
Browne Jacobson strengthens its UK&I commercial practice with hire of new retail & consumer specialist partner
Browne Jacobson has bolstered its commercial practice in the UK with the appointment of commercial contracts and international trade specialist, Emma Roake, into its City-based London team.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s Private Equity specialists advise Palatine on key CTS exit
Browne Jacobson’s national private equity (PE) lawyers have advised leading mid-market PE investment firm, Palatine Private Equity (Palatine) on its exit from CTS Group, the fast-growing specialist in testing, inspection and geoengineering consulting services to the construction and infrastructure sectors.
Press Release
Browne Jacobson’s specialist corporate finance lawyers advise LDC on sale of global IT services provider
Browne Jacobson’s corporate finance lawyers have advised leading mid-market private equity firm, LDC and management on the sale of specialist managed IT services provider, Littlefish to Bowmark Capital.
Legal Update
Regeneration funding: Securing Compulsory Purchase Orders in the face of escalating building costs
The focus on the Levelling Up agenda and the availability of grant funding, means there are numerous important regeneration schemes actively being pursued across the country. With ever-escalating project and building costs, in many cases, applications that were made for grant funding were based on costs contingencies that have already been exceeded.
Legal Update
Digital Markets Act and Data Platforms - FRANDs for life?
The Digital Markets Act (the “DMA”) joins the dots between competition law and data protection law and actively targets data-driven platforms. It is also a comprehensive regulation to take note of, with familiar GDPR-style fines tied to turnover.