RG10 and DP World Site Visit
As co-chair of the RG10 Committee, I recently had the opportunity to jointly organise an site visit to DP World London Gateway led by my fellow committee member, Farah Shah. During the visit, our group analysed this world-class facility specifically through the lens of strategic real estate—examining how physical property decisions are directly aligned with an organization's long-term business objectives to drive commercial success. Rather than viewing the port and logistics park as mere transactional real estate, we explored how DP World's "port-centric" strategy co-locates a 9.25 million square foot logistics park directly adjacent to deep-sea shipping berths to eliminate supply chain friction. This alignment of physical space with corporate vision is supported by a £2 billion investment over the last decade, with an additional £1 billion committed through 2030 to expand capacity.
Viewing the asset through this strategic framework highlighted several key dimensions of value creation:
Planning Agility: The park's Local Development Order (LDO) acts as a powerful strategic tool, fast-tracking planning permissions in as little as 28 days to give occupiers a rapid, risk-mitigated route to market.
Socio-Economic Impact: London Gateway serves as critical national infrastructure, contributing £33 billion to the UK economy, linking domestic markets to key trade routes in Asia, and handling c.10% of global container port throughput.
Flexible Development & Asset Design: We analysed how the park accommodates diverse occupier requirements by offering a wide array of plot sizes and buildings designed with varying heights to maximize vertical operational efficiency. The availability of new plots specifically positioned for custom prelets demonstrates how the estate proactively designs real estate solutions to secure long-term, high-calibre tenants.
We analysed how the park accommodates diverse occupier requirements by offering a wide array of plot sizes and buildings designed with varying heights to maximize vertical operational efficiency. The availability of new plots specifically positioned for custom prelets demonstrates how the estate proactively designs real estate solutions attracting renowned tenants with a strong covenant.
Operational & ESG Innovation: The site features the world's first all-electric berth (Berth 4). By shifting over 29% of container transport to rail, DP World has saved 13 million lorry miles and reduced carbon emissions by over 40,000 tCO2e annually, placing the asset in the top 1% globally for environmental performance under EcoVadis.
By analysing London Gateway through the lens of strategic real estate, our group gained a practical understanding of how physical configuration, planning speed, and progressive sustainability credentials compound the long-term value of logistics assets.A sincere thank you to the DP World team for hosting us and sharing these invaluable industry insights. A special mention to David Sinclair at Stephenson Harwood, Daljit Singh Oberoi, Kofi Ofosu-Asare and Keira Lewis at DP World for organising and hosting the site visit.
If this sparks your interest and you would like to join us on our next site visit, please register as a Member of the RG10 to get the latest updates by clicking here: Meet the RG10 Committee | RG10