MRE's Defence and Industrial Park in Telford is the largest single commercial development site in Telford. Credit: MRE

Telford defence park takes step forward after £63m deal

9 February 2026 15:38 Mike Sheridan Comments (0)

Developer MRE has completed a deal to kick off development at a key industrial site earmarked to become the heart of the region’s defence manufacturing industry.

Plans for Telford Defence and Business Park, which has permission for five industrial units intended to sit alongside around 1m sq ft of existing industrial space, are now set to move forward after the firm secured three loans to underpin development at the site along with three others, part of a package worth a total of £63.1m.

The wider 110-acre Shropshire development site is already home to defence firm Rheinmetall BAE Systems Land(RBSL), a joint venture between the United Kingdom’s BAE Systems and Germany’s Rheinmetall AG, who are currently developing the UK’s Challenger 3 tank programme.

The deal for the Telford site was part of a package of refinancing across four sites in MRE’s Midlands portfolio, with loans totalling £44.4m provided by Leumi UK. Martley Capital introduced the transaction and provided a £18.7m mezzanine loan, taking the total combined financing to £63.1m.

Telford Defence and Industrial Park is part of the former Hadley Castle Works, which employed over 5,000 people in aircraft parts and munitions manufacturing at its peak, but activity declined steadily after World War Two and manufacturing had largely ceased by the early 2000’s.

MRE completed a £20m deal to buy up the site from GKN in 2022, with planning permission granted for its redevelopment in 2024.

Sam Clark, chief executive at Mercia Real Estate, said the site was now a key priority for the firm.

“We really value Leumi UK’s flexibility, their understanding of our objectives, and their commitment to working closely with us to develop a financing solution that will enable us to achieve our goals with these assets, and unlock the clear value we see at Telford Business Park in particular,” he said.

“We look forward to working with them as we progress our ambitious business plan for this portfolio.”

Oliver Stenning, relationship director at Leumi UK, said: “We were thrilled to provide a financing solution specifically tailored to Mercia’s business plan for these attractive assets. It is also pleasing to build on our trusted relationship with Martley Capital, in what is our third co-lending deal. We have extensive experience in the industrial sector, and it is clear these conveniently located assets are well placed to deliver value going forward.”