Exeter is suffering from a chronic shortage of industrial space, with just 5.89 acres remaining on the city’s most deliverable site.
The city’s strategic position at Junction 29/30 of the M5 and at the gateway to Devon and Cornwall has resulted in it becoming the focus of requirements from logistics operators and ecommerce companies seeking new space in the South West to improve delivery times, according to commercial property specialist Colliers International.
Tom Watkins from the Industrial & Logistics team covering the South West said: “Exeter is ideally located to meet the needs of companies reacting to consumer demand for faster delivery times by moving beyond the business model of having big distribution hubs of 100,000 – 200,000 sq ft located in Bristol and Plymouth.
“There is considerable demand for industrial space in Exeter, with DHL and Amazon among companies with active requirements. Meeting this demand is proving a challenge because the market is incredibly tight as there are so few warehouse and distribution units, and development opportunities available.
“Matford Green Business Park is a prominent development site in the city, and one of the most deliverable schemes in Exeter, however there are just 5.89 acres remaining. The infrastructure is now in place and the spine road completed, providing access to this final phase.
“The remaining land has been master-planned for new units of sizes starting from 10,000 sq ft, and we are expecting to see it attract strong interest from potential end users across a range of sectors.
“Matford Green Business Park has proven to be a hugely popular to date with automotive dealerships. However, the remaining development space would also be suitable for other commercial uses such as trade counter, office, and industrial/warehousing.”
Colliers International is acting jointly with Alder King on Matford Green Business Park, which has become an automotive hub for the South West with VW, Lexus and Toyota dealerships now operational, and Audi expected to complete later this year. Land Rover/Jaguar, Ford, Fiat, Jeep, Mazda and Alfa Romeo are also scheduled to open on the site.
