Cowie’s bid to convert storage to superstore

Mar 25 2008 by Karen Dent, The Journal

TYCOON Sir Tom Cowie says he wants to transform part of his bonded warehouse business in Sunderland and believes it could be an ideal site for a giant supermarket.

The Sunderland-born entrepreneur has owned North European Marine Services (NEMS), which is based at the city’s port, since 1994. The business operates 6,500sqft of secure storage facilities at the docks where imported metal is housed for the London Metal Exchange (LME) and other goods are kept in secure CCTV-covered and alarmed warehouses.

The LME licenses and approves businesses storing metal on its behalf but next year, some of the NEMS facilities at Deptford Terrace on the south side of Sunderland’s Queen Alexandra Bridge will no longer be registered with the body. NEMS’s warehouses at the port itself will retain their LME certification.

Alternative uses for the Deptford Terrace site, which is some distance from the port, will be considered as the former Sunderland Football Club chairman looks at how the business can be moved forward.

Sir Tom said: “It depends on what we can get planning permission for. If we could get one of the big supermarkets, it could be worthwhile. There would be plenty of parking space.”

Change of use planning permission would be required before the warehouses or the site could be used for something other than storage. Consultants to consider alternative uses have not yet been appointed.

Phil Barrett, Sunderland City Council’s director of development and regeneration, said: “The council as local planning authority has not yet been approached with respect to the future of these buildings.

“Any proposal which comes forward as a planning application should be prepared and will certainly be considered in the context of the council’s planning policies for the area.”

Multi-millionaire entrepreneur Sir Tom, who started the public transport giant Arriva, said he was keen to refocus NEMS as its market changed.

He said: “It’s certainly not as good as it used to be when our warehouses were full.

“There are more empty ones than full ones. It’s a different business. We’re changing shape now.

“It has changed direction – it is not about to fail. It is cyclical – you get good years and bad years. NEMS has a £7m balance sheet.”

In addition to storing metal, NEMS offer general warehousing, personal document and bonded storage to customers from the UK, Scandinavia, Russia and North America and is one of Britain’s biggest specialist ware- housing operations.

It currently handles and stores palletised goods, containers and bulk shipped into deep water quay facilities at the mouth of the River Wear. Document storage and retrieval is also carried out at its headquarters at Sunderland’s South Dock.