Investing in the Future

Over the last ten years, we have invested in £1.2 billion across the Group on infrastructure, supporting trade in a variety of commodities across our port estates - from Kent to the Clyde.

We aim to continue to offer supply chains a reliable, resilient, and competitive international gateway, attracting global interest from shipping lines and cargo owners looking to ship their goods in the most efficient way possible.

Sustainable supply chain solutions

The investments we make today will help open up more trade opportunities, helping businesses to reduce costs, congestion, and carbon emissions. Working with our supply chain partners, we seek opportunities to minimise the use of natural resources and energy ensuring sustainability of resources and reductions in carbon emissions.

Liverpool 2

Liverpool2 is a £400 million investment to create a new deep-water container terminal at the Port of Liverpool, enabling the largest vessels to call directly into the heart of the UK. The facility does not only have the capacity to accept the largest generation of container ships but is one of the most modern and efficient terminals in the world, future-proofing the port for decades to come.

The terminal features land reclaimed from the River Mersey, a new quay wall, the biggest ship-to-shore cranes of their type in the world, and the latest technology. The extra capacity and improved connectivity is critical in re-establishing the Port of Liverpool as the UK’s port of choice for shipping lines and cargo owners.

Significantly, Liverpool2 offers exporters based in the North a more competitive route to international markets. Peel Ports is leading the way in helping businesses to reduce costs, congestion and carbon emissions in their supply chains.

Liverpool Biomass Terminal

By making use of our expertise and large land footprint, a £100 million custom-built biomass import terminal located at Gladstone Dock at Peel Ports Liverpool was developed.

Completed in 2016, the terminal provides a robust and reliable supply chain for Drax Group plc, an innovative energy company that owns and operates the largest power station in the UK. The terminal includes a new rail loading facility and storage capacity for up to 100,000 tonnes and supplies Drax with an all rail solution from Liverpool to Yorkshire.

The company is involved in numerous areas including energy generation, supply and distribution of sustainable biomass, and electricity contracts.

The Group has undergone a transformation into a predominantly biomass-fuelled electricity generator by using cutting edge technology and sustainably sourced wood pellets. There are numerous benefits to using biomass, including a reduction in CO emissions as well as energy security from a renewable source.

Liverpool Bulks Warehousing

This comprises of three 97,000 sq ft ATEX compliant units capable of accommodating steel, dry bulks and multiuser warehousing. The bulk handling designed to discharge up to 8000 Mt PWWD. There are berths suitable to accommodate vessels circa 30,000 Mt DWAT and includes a LHM 420 crane.

Our bulk warehousing has great multimodal connectivity (road, rail and water) and close proximity to UK consumers, warehousing and manufacturing in a central location for rapid distribution nationally.

Our bulk warehousing has direct links to Manchester Ship Canal and access to Ireland through Peel Ports’ Irish Sea Hub. We are continually improving connectivity through long-term investment programme.

Liverpool Animal Feed Warehousing

ADM Agriculture invested £7.4m as part of its expansion at the Port of Liverpool, providing the equivalent of two football pitches of extra capacity for trade in bulk agricultural goods. This makes the Liverpool animal feed store the largest in the UK.

In 2018, the company signed a long-term contract with Peel Ports Group to invest in Liverpool and Glasgow with the aim of achieving imports across the North of England and Scotland of 1 million tonnes each year. 

As well as the new warehouse at Liverpool which has been expanded by 140,000 sq ft, ADM Agriculture have filled 470,000 sq ft of capacity at Clydeport. .The company has also started using Great Yarmouth Port for the first time to import animal feed, to service local markets near the port in the farming and fertiliser community.

Hunterston PARC

Hunterston Port and Resource Campus (PARC) is a nationally significant industrial and multi-modal port located just 40 minutes from Glasgow. Its strengths lies in its location with its deep water port, on-site rail connectivity, national grid connections and it’s sheer size (approx. 1,000 acres), which allows for a broad range of options for occupation.

Our vision is to redevelop 300 acres to create a nationally significant Energy and Marine campus, bringing together leading industry operators, world-class universities and the latest innovators, to deliver technological advances in areas such as power generation and aquaculture.

The will provide energy intensive industries with low cost, on-site power and heat generation, offering a unique opportunity to develop innovative, self-sustaining and cost-effective net zero operations aimed at supporting the delivery of Scotland’s 2045 climate change targets. It offers a number of significant development opportunities ideally suited to:

  • Energy and Power Generation
  • Offshore Manufacture
  • Recycling of Energy Assets
  • Vessel Inspection and Repair
  • Warehousing and Office Space
  • Aquaculture

The remainder of the site will be dedicated towards protecting and enhancing biodiversity, with Hunterston Parc’s natural features including the nationally important Southannan Sands Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), which is designated for its intertidal marine habitats, saline lagoons and woodland areas. 

Hunterston PARC is the ideal place to serve the UK, Irish, European and American markets. It offers deep sea, road and rail connectivity to move freight cost-effectively all over the UK.

London Medway Estate Expansion

Part of Peel Ports London Medway, Port of Sheerness is the largest terminal of its kind in the UK, handling 1.3 million tonnes of timber and forest products a year. The Port of Sheerness is a key commercial port for South East England. It is part of a unique and innovative port network operated by Peel Ports Group; connecting the UK and Ireland with the rest of the world.

The Port of Sheerness has continued to prove its resilience to the changing trade on the River Medway and the needs of its customers by diversifying its offer into niche markets and construction materials, whilst maintaining its core expertise in the automotive and forest products market.

To further support growth and sustainable expansion the Port has developed a Master Plan, which outlines the Port’s vision for the next 20 years. To date, Peel Ports has invested £21.6m (phase 1) and £6.5m (phase 2) a total of £28.1 million into its 50 acre Wellmarsh site, as part of plans to drive significant growth at the port and strengthen its position as a leading terminal for bulk timbers, as well as automotive and other sectors. 

The site already has 25-acres of custom-built timber storage facilities, including covered and open storage, and continued development will expand this available space further. The additional storage will increase capacity to facilitate annual volumes and further growth demand in coming years. 

The construction of the 26,000 sq ft treatment facility on the former Thamesteel site for customer Rowlinson Timber, represents a £500,000 investment by Peel Ports into purpose-built logistics facilities for forest product customers.

Great Yarmouth Windfarm Assembly

Completed in 2020, ScottishPower Renewables undertook one of the largest offshore wind farm developments in the world, called East Anglia ONE and includes 102 turbines 7MW Siemens Gamesa turbines, with investment in the region of £2.5 billion.

Peel Port’s Group was able to offer ScottishPower Renewables the land footprint and harbour expertise to deliver the requirements for the project. Having provided installation and construction support for Sheringham Shoal, Lincs and Scroby Sands wind farms in the past and due to its proximity to the project (30 miles offshore), Peel Ports Great Yarmouth was chosen as the installation base.

East Anglia ONE generates enough clean energy to power the equivalent of 630,000 homes and has a lifespan of 30 years. The port, along with ScottishPower Renewables, has co-invested £5 million in infrastructure development to support the marshalling and construction activity for the project.

 

Greenock Ocean Terminal

The opening of the £12m cruise berthing facility and visitor centre at Greenock Ocean Terminal led by Peel Ports and Inverclyde Council, was completed in 2020 aimed at supporting economic growth and international tourism across the wider city region area.

The new facility, with a restaurant and a gallery celebrating the work of sculptor George Wyllie, will boost the number of cruise ship passengers welcomed to Scotland and will allow over 150,000 passengers to pass through Greenock Ocean Terminal per year, delivering £26 million in annual visitor and crew spend to the Scottish economy.