Montagu Evans advises Ministry of Defence (MoD) on acquisition of Europe’s largest indoor drone testing facility

Montagu Evans has advised the Ministry of Defence (MoD), via the Defence Infrastructure Organisation (DIO), on the successful acquisition of Unit 4 at Panattoni Park in Swindon for NATO’s largest European indoor drone testing facility.

Marking one of the largest defence-related real estate transactions in UK history, the 545,000 sq ft, Grade A facility will play an important role in the development and testing of cutting-edge technologies in a strategically important location for the country’s defence sector.

As part of its appointment by the DIO for Estate Management Professional Services (EMPS) under the Crown Commercial Services Framework Agreement, Montagu Evans provided the MoD and the DIO real estate team with occupational and commercial advice on the acquisition.

The facility was formally unveiled by defence secretary Dan Jarvis on 19 June in a ceremony attended by representatives from Montagu Evans.

Montagu Evans’ partnership with the DIO forms part of its role as a leading advisor to several of the country’s largest public sector estates landowners – with the public sector one of the firm’s four key “conviction areas”.

Kieran Webber, Lead Partner for Industrial & Logistics Occupier Advisory at Montagu Evans, said:

“Securing a best-in-class 545,000 sq ft facility reflects the growing scale and sophistication of demand within the defence sector, which continues to translate into strong activity across the UK industrial and logistics market. We were delighted with the outcome for our client, supporting multiple stakeholders with in-depth advice on a complex acquisition, whilst moving at pace to deliver a successful result.

This transaction clearly demonstrates our Partnership USP – effectively connecting public and private sector expertise with a singular focus on client outcomes.  It’s great to see our Industrial & Logistics and Public Sector conviction areas delivering on this mission-critical project.”