Former XPO Logistics warehouse on the market
Commercial property agent JLL has been instructed to market One Langham Park, a 164,000 sq ft distribution unit at Junction 29 of the M1.
Acting on behalf of Cabot Properties, the building near Chesterfield has come available following the vacation of XPO.
James Keeton, director at JLL, Nottingham, said: “2017 is on course to be a record year for the Big Box market in the Midlands with some five million sq ft taken up in H1 and the signs that H2 will be equally high. Despite this, the East Midlands has been frustrated by a lack of built and high quality stock and One Langham Park will help in this regard.”
Analysis of the industrial market by JLL has identified strong demand for units of 100,000 sq ft and over throughout the region, bucking the national trend.
Keeton added: “One Langham Park ticks all the big boxes for warehouse space in terms of connectivity and being built to a high specification. Whilst nationally demand has slightly fallen back for Big Boxes, the opposite has been true in this region. A dearth of industrial units has led to more Design & Build and it is rare we get an existing unit come to the market of this size.
“Access to skilled labour is also increasingly a key issue for occupiers and again the East Midlands and Langham Place stands strong on this requirement. Retailers and logistic operators need to deliver on service, which means access to a wide labour pool in a short drive time is essential.
“Connectivity too pushes up demand for prime, modern distribution units and being close to a motorway junction and good road network, fulfills the need for retailers and logistic companies to achieve faster delivery times.”
Keeton is hopeful that delivery of more speculative space in the region will help with the supply issues going forward, but those who need immediate occupation, the second hand market is still the fastest route.
He added: “Potentially, close to 3m sq ft of Big Box units could be brought forward in the next 12 to 18 months in the Midlands on a speculative basis. We also see rents growing across the distribution and logistics sectors, at an annual average of close to 3%, between now and 2021, however potentially more for absolute prime locations.”
