One of the largest standing distribution warehouses in the South West has been brought to market, with strategic real estate advisor Avison Young appointed to find a tenant or buyer.
Big Box 24, the 352,303 sq ft regional distribution centre owned by Sainsbury’s, is situated at Junction 24 of the M5, and is being marketed at a time of intense activity in the logistics market.
The fully fitted, modern cross-dock distribution centre is currently occupied by Argos and will be vacated from early / mid 2022 as part of the integration of the Sainsbury’s and Argos distribution networks.
“This asset will undoubtedly attract the attention of logistics and retail businesses who are responding to the demands of the last 18 months, and the continuing boom in home delivery requirements,” says Paul Hobbs, Director within the specialist national industrial team at Avison Young.
“We are now looking for a buyer or occupying tenant who can take advantage of this fully-fitted warehouse, strategically situated to service the South West, located in an area with a local, ready workforce and close to Europe’s largest construction site at Hinkley Point C.”
Paul Hobbs continues, “The last twelve months have seen challenges across all market sectors, but these changing conditions and a structural shift in how we are shopping have resulted in a continued demand for logistics and warehouse space across the UK. We are seeing record take-up this year within the sector with business confidence continuing to be robust.”
According to Avison Young’s Big Box Bulletin, UK take-up of large grade A warehouses (> 100,000 sq ft) amounted to 25.8 million sq ft during H1 2021, 73% up on the five-year, six-monthly average; with 46.1 million sq ft of take-up over the past 12 months. During this time, there have been 162 transactions.
Online retail sales continue at high levels and activity has been driven by e-commerce, whether from retailers directly or third-party logistics providers. The non-food retail sector accounted for 44% of H1 demand, with Amazon alone leasing 13 units totalling 5.4 million sq ft.
The exceptional demand has significantly reduced supply of big box units to 22 million sq ft (six months take-up at current rates). This compares to 25 million sq ft at the end of 2020 and 31 million sq ft at the end of 2019.
With a considerable amount of space under offer and there being no let-up in demand, supply levels are expected to fall further during the second half of the year.
“Big Box 24 is an excellent opportunity to engage in this active market,” concludes Paul Hobbs.
