North West logistics take up shows increasing share of UK market
The North West region’s logistics take up in the second quarter has accounted for an increasing year on year share of the market’s UK take up rate.
According to the Q2 Logistics Market report from global real estate advisor CBRE, take up in the North West totalled 1.2 million sq ft across six deals in Q2, which is 54% higher than H1 2023’s total.
Almost half of the quarter’s take up in the North West came from secondhand buildings, followed by speculative at 37%, with 1.4 million sq ft under offer at the end of Q2 across six units.
Availability in the region decreased by 12% quarter on quarter (QoQ) to 4.3 million sq ft in Q2. Out of the available space, most was in newly completed speculative units at 58% and speculative under construction at 32%.
Nationally, take-up totalled 11.7 million sq ft for the first half of the year, 18% higher than H1 2023.
Available space at the end of H1 totalled 38.8 million sq ft, up two per cent QoQ. Twenty five deals completed nationally in the second quarter, bringing the H1 total to 45 deals. Twenty nine units were under offer at the end of Q2, totalling 12.1 million sq ft, down by 14.7% from Q1 2024.
In Q2 2024, the UK vacancy rate rose marginally to 5.55% from 5.28%, predominantly driven by increases in available secondhand stock.
Unlike most regions, the North West vacancy rate decreased from 4.88% to 4.47%, making it the lowest in the UK.
Equally, prime rents in the North West increased QoQ by 2.4%, whereas rents remained unchanged in all other regions bar the Midlands (East and West).
Paul Cook, Senior Director, CBRE Manchester, said: “Following limited take up in Q1, we have seen a different picture in Q2 which demonstrates the resilience of the North West market.
“Supply remains constrained and will be further eroded given the number of units currently under offer and combined with a limited development pipeline, we expect to see continued rental growth over the coming months.”
