A second leading international parcel firm has signed up for a unit at Carlisle’s Kingmoor Park, as the site continues to defy the economic downturn.

The unnamed company is expected to move on to the industrial estate, north of the city, later this year. The news comes just weeks after Kingmoor chiefs revealed European delivery giant Geopost is to open a base there.
Kingmoor chief executive Tony Goddard said the number of firms inquiring about moving to Carlisle is “surprisingly high”, despite the recession.
The raft of infrastructure projects currently on the table, including the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR), the Carlisle airport expansion, the new headquarters for the University of Cumbria and Carlisle Renaissance are making the city a desirable location for business, he added. Kingmoor’s popularity seems immune to the vagaries of the world economy, with talks currently ongoing between bosses and interested companies on about 320,000sq ft of space.
Since December 2008, a total of 64,000sq ft has been let, with another 10,000sq ft at the legal stage and a further 250,000sq ft subject to “serious interest”.
Mr Goddard said: “We have started 2009 with a surprisingly high level of inquiries, which is a very positive sign. These inquiries are particularly interesting as they demonstrate the flexibility of Kingmoor Park and Carlisle’s attractiveness as a business location. We currently have new build, expansion, relocation, land purchases and new start- up opportunities from global, national and local companies.
“Carlisle is experiencing unprecedented opportunities for development and investment including the huge public sector investment into schools in the city, the Carlisle Northern Development Route (CNDR), the development of the airport and Carlisle Renaissance.
“These projects represent many millions of pounds of investment for Carlisle, which I believe, should see us through these turbulent times. In the meantime, we look forward to publicising our next big sign up to keep those confidence levels high.”
The Cumberland News revealed in December that Geopost, Europe’s second largest parcel company is to open a depot a Kingmoor Park.
The firm’s DPD operation will take a unit at the site and is expected to create scores of warehouse and driver jobs.