Positively, take up of industrial property in the UK in Q3 2013 was 7.31m sq ft, 9.5% higher than the same quarter last year, according to new research by BNP Paribas Real Estate, the leading property adviser.
Interestingly, design and build deals accounted for 1.67m sq ft of take up in Q3 2013, a rise of 57.5% compared to Q3 2012.
Commenting on the market, associate director at BNP Paribas Real Estate, Kevin Mofid, said: “The UK’s industrial and logistics market continues to remain robust due to companies, specifically retailers, reorganising supply chains driven by the growth of online retailing.”
In terms of regions, the Midlands continues to lead the way, achieving the highest amount of take up in the third quarter of this year at 3.23m sq ft. Elsewhere, take up in London and the South East in Q3 2013 was 1.26m sq ft and in Yorkshire and The Humber it was 0.80m sq ft.
BNP Paribas Real Estate’s head of national industrial and logistics agency, Nick Waddington, said: “The Midlands remains the strongest in terms of demand for industrial and logistics properties, due to its central location. However, supply is still severely constrained, with less than 2 years’ worth of stock left there. Taking into consideration the continuing strong demand and chronic lack of available supply, now is an ideal time for developers and land owners to consider speculative developments.”