GLOBAL freight and logistics business JAS has opened its first centre in Wales.

JAS Forwarding Worldwide has taken a five-year lease on an 8,000 sq ft of space with an annual headline rent of £4.25 psf at Wentloog, near Newport.

JAS regional director Steve Jeffery said: “We have created the space we needed by combining two units at The Laurels Business Park in Wentloog and fitted it out to our requirements. It’s an ideal first location and base for us in Wales from where we hope to expand.”

An initial six jobs have been created with the Wentloog venture by Italian owned JAS which employs a total of 110 people in the UK. The business has a total of seven centres in the UK including one recently opened in Plymouth and its headquarters at Heathrow in London.

Newport-based Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors and Michael Bruce, of DLP Surveyors, are joint agents of The Laurels Business Park, which has of eight units offering a combined total of 30,202 sq ft of office and warehouse space.

Fiona Weaver, of joint agents Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors, said: “We’re delighted to have been able to cater for the specific requirements JAS had for its first location here in Wales in terms of size of unit, location close to the A48/M4 and property specification we look forward to working with them again in the future.

“There is now just 2,000 sq ft of warehousing and 900 sq ft of office space remaining on this very popular, well designed and ideally located business park.”

Other tenants on the business park include Vital Resources, Flamespray Technologies (FST), Cambria Maintenance Services, Cassley Autos and Supply Project Solutions Ltd.