North East logistics company, AV Dawson, has today announced the acquisition of the former base of biofuels company D1 Oils at Riverside Park in Middlesbrough.
This is the latest in a number of significant property purchases AV Dawson has made in Middlesbrough in a bid to expand its property arm.
The company has invested nearly £7m to snap up four sites in the past 12 months and it is now the largest individual landowner on Riverside Park with more than 80 acres of land.
Over the past year, AV Dawson has also bought the Bowes Road Industrial Estate, the former Newbould's pie factory on Startforth Road and 3.5 acres of playing field land on Forty Foot Road.
Gary Dawson, managing director of AV Dawson, said: "As a company, we have invested heavily in a series of land purchases that has developed our property portfolio considerably. It has brought a good balance between the rental side of the business and the operations arm.
"We continue to provide the entire range of logistical services to major household names and we also now have a significant range of properties for companies to move in to on Riverside Park.
"The opportunity to buy the former D1 Oils site was fantastic and it helps put is in a very strong position for when the economy picks up."
The acquisition of the former D1 Oils site will be welcome news for the region as it has remained empty since D1 Oils announced that the Teesside refinery would be closing in April last year. AV Dawson intends to develop the site for rail freight handling and distribution.
A family-run business, AV Dawson was established in 1938 and now offers companies the ability to move goods via road, rail and sea. It also has extensive loading services, warehousing and storage. It is the only UK company based in the North of England offering such a wide extent of services from their own facilities and is the largest independent dry cargo wharf operator on the River Tees with four berths in total at Dawson's Wharf and the North Sea Supply Base.