Other Businesses

ABP Property

Our property division brings together an unrivalled land bank spanning 21 multi-modal locations around the country, with 960 hectares of port-based development land.

ABPmer

Drawing on 60 years of experience, ABP Marine Environmental Research (ABPmer) provides specialist marine environmental research and consultancy services.

UK Dredging

UK Dredging (UKD) operates the largest British-owned dredging fleet and specialises in the provision of reliable and cost effective port maintenance dredging services.

ABP and Britcon breaking ground at the Port of King’s Lynn.

From left to right: Rob Page (ABP), Andy Constable (ABP), Alison Rumsey (ABP), Mick Raspin (Britcon) and John Whitmore (Britcon). Image credit: Stephen Waller.

Associated British Ports (ABP), the UK’s leading ports group, has broken ground on a new bulk store at the Port of King’s Lynn, which is being constructed for our customer, Azelis, an innovation service provider that supplies speciality chemicals and food ingredients to more than 2,000 customers in the UK.

This marks the largest investment ABP has made in King’s Lynn to date, highlighting the company’s commitment to enhancing infrastructure and supporting the growth of the regional economy.

At 106m long, 44m wide and 10m high, the new bulk storage facility will be designed to accommodate both loose salt and bagged products, and will be situated at the junction of Edward Benefer Way and Estuary Road. External works also include 5000m2 of heavy-duty concrete paving. The design and construction of this new facility will be carried out by Britcon, a multi-award-winning, carbon-neutral construction company with regional offices across the UK.

Notably, this will be the first bulk storage warehouse in East Anglia to be constructed under the new industrial frameworks contract, which sets a new standard for future developments the region.

Following the completion of the new bulk store, which is scheduled for May 2025, Azelis will install a cutting-edge bagging plant and relocate to the site, which they will lease. This move will optimise Azelis’ operations and support their asset-light model through extending the current relationship with ABP.

Paul Ager, Divisional Port Manager (East Anglia) at ABP said: “ABP is delighted to be making its largest investment in the Port of King’s Lynn to date, with the construction of this new store and for a new customer at the port. King’s Lynn is the preferred Norfolk port for forest products, agribulk, manufacturing and recyclables, and is already well-equipped to handle agribulks and aggregates.

“With this new business we should see the movement of more trade through the port, which will benefit the wider economy.”

Nick Shepherd, Managing Director at Britcon said: “We’re pleased to be working again at the Port of King’s Lynn, and continuing our long-standing collaborative relationship with ABP. We have developed a methodology to minimise our impact and maintain critical port operations. Our design and construction solution includes LED lighting, the reuse of 3,000 tonnes of recycled aggregates and a sustainable surface water drainage system to reduce carbon and improve environmental outcomes.”