Logistics warehouse availability dropped 16 per cent in 2010 according to CBRE’s latest UK Logistics MarketView. At the end of 2010 availability stood at 44.4 million sq ft compared to 52.3 million sq ft at the end of 2009.
The report goes on to state that statistics continue to show a decrease in prime new space with good secondary modern space also falling. This coupled with the fact that there continues to be a lack of funding for speculative development means that many regions will have a shortage of preferred new space in 2011.
An increase in demand for big new space as well as older larger buildings, such as the Big Ram Swindon, becoming obsolete has led to the decrease in availability.
Dissection of the availability figures reveals that the new space has seen the largest decrease in availability. Second-hand modern space has seen a decrease in availability too but to a lesser extent.
This is reflected in the figures – second hand space availability stood at 31 million sq ft, almost 70 per cent. Furthermore the size distribution shows that the majority of available sheds are in the 100,000 to 250,000 sq ft category. The proportion of logistics properties which are under 250,000 sq ft is 72 per cent whereas only three per cent of availability is in units of over 500,000 sq ft.
