Associated British Ports (ABP) has announced a GB£15 million investment to develop more than 40 acres (just over 16 hectares) of industrial open storage land across its South Wales ports of Cardiff and Newport. The initiative responds to rising demand for flexible, high-specification logistics space. It is also a modest beginning to a wider national strategy to make ABP the “go-to landlord” for open storage across its 21 UK ports.
The South Wales programme will bring forward four key sites, due for first occupation in early 2026. These include Queens Road South and Longships Road at the Port of Cardiff, and Atlantic Terminal and West Way Road at the Port of Newport. According to the land owners, Associated British Ports, the new facilities will offer secure, surfaced, and immediately accessible land suitable for a range of sectors, including steel, renewables, aggregates, and logistics. ABP’s £15 million initiative could signal a new post-industrial future for the region.
Old king coal to new king logistics
For two centuries, the economic wealth of South Wales rested on the coal industry, and its ports flourished as a result. It’s widely believed that the first ever cheque (a form of money order or bearer bond) for one million pounds was signed in 1901 in the opulent Coal Exchange building (now a hotel) in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay – now redeveloped as the seat of the Welsh government. The cheques required for business with Associated British Ports may be considerably larger, as befits the second largest land-owner in the Principality.
“ABP is more than a port operator, we’re a strategic landowner and commercial landlord with over 2,000 acres of land in Wales,” said Helen Thomas, ABP’s Head of Property. She says that offers prospective tenants access to the modern-day industrial heartlands of South Wales and along the M4 corridor – the ribbon of businesses that operate on the motorway that connects the region with London. “We’re proud to be leading the way in open storage,” added Helen Thomas. “This investment programme is about unlocking potential, for our customers, for South Wales, and for the UK supply chain.”
Road, rail, and sea links
Tenants will have access to bespoke open storage platforms in port-adjacent locations with multimodal connectivity. Each site benefits from 24/7 on-site security and direct access to road, rail, and sea links, alongside the ports’ existing facilities for handling bulk and break-bulk cargoes. The new sites are expected to attract a broad range of occupiers—from construction material suppliers to renewable energy companies—supporting both regional employment and the broader UK supply chain.
South Wales is already well connected to the UK inland intermodal network via a road and a rail terminal at Wentloog in Cardiff. Broadening the commercial handling inventory can only be beneficial to the region. ABP’s Lead Property Asset Manager, Jeff Gibb, said the company’s hands-on landlord approach was key to the project’s appeal. “We take pride in working closely with occupiers to flex and expand their space as business needs evolve,” he said. “Over the past 12 months, ABP has helped several tenants relocate, consolidate, and grow within our Welsh portfolio.”
A new, diversified industrial base
From a market perspective, Kate Openshaw, Associate for Industrial and Logistics at commercial real estate agents JLL, said there was strong demand for open storage across the UK, reflecting the more general demand for new logistics facilities in general. “It’s emerging as a distinct asset class due to constrained supply and growing occupier requirements for surfaced, secure and accessible open storage land close to major road networks with rail and port access,” she said. “ABP’s investment in South Wales sets a new benchmark for the sector, offering occupiers a rare combination of scale, readiness, and strategic location with multimodal connectivity.”
The development represents a significant boost for the South Wales economy at a time of industrial transition. The recent closure of the blast furnaces at Port Talbot has marked the decline of traditional steelmaking in the region, but investment such as ABP’s points towards a new, diversified industrial base. By unlocking land for logistics, renewables, and value-added manufacturing, ABP’s initiative may help reposition South Wales as a hub for trade, distribution, and clean industry.