Online retail growth boosts Yorkshire logistics market in 2018
The growth of online retailers in Yorkshire and the Humber has resulted in a 51% increase in ‘big box’ logistics take-up in 2018, according to LSH’s 2019 Industrial & Logistics Market Report.
The region saw take-up increase last year to 8.7m sq ft last year, marking an 8% rise from 2017 and in line with the five-year average.
Big box logistics take-up increased to 3.4m sq ft. The largest deal in Yorkshire saw Clipper Logistics lease Sheffield 615, a refurbished 615,000 sq ft unit, on behalf of online retailer PrettyLittleThing.com.
Other deals included Premier Farnell taking 361,000 sq ft at Muse’s Logic Leeds, Jack Wills taking a 390,000 sq ft unit at Parkway Interchange, Sheffield, while ASOS took 190,000 sq ft at West Moor Park, Doncaster.
The report found that there was a mixed picture when it comes to supply. Availability across the region was down by 5% to 15.6m sq ft at the end of 2018. For the small and medium end of the market, there was a 26% fall in unit availability.
However, the supply of mid box and big box space increased by 40% and 4% respectively as speculative development returned to the market.
Several large warehouses are scheduled for completion in 2019 including Barwood Capital’s 259,000 sq ft Super G in Glasshoughton and multiple units at Nimbus Park, Gateway 4 and G-Park, all of which are in Doncaster.
The availability of grade A mid box space more than doubled across Yorkshire and the Humber, with new speculative units easing supply shortages.
Prime rent levels remained stable across the region’s key markets during 2018, staying within the £5.75 to £6.25 per sq ft range. Secondary rents increased in Doncaster, Hull, Sheffield and Wakefield.
Scott Morrison, director of industrial and logistics at LSH’s Leeds office, said: “Until recently, the Yorkshire and Humber market has seen less speculative development than neighbouring regions such as the East Midlands and North West.
“Now Yorkshire has more mid box and big box options, thanks in part to an increase in developer confidence, with developers targeting areas which have the right demographics such as labour supply and power capacity. The delivery of high quality, speculative units may provide opportunities for new prime rental benchmarks to be set in 2019.”
