The increase in rents for warehouse space is continuing to accelerate as supply levels become more acute according to the latest research from property consultant Colliers with rents in March alone increasing by 1.9%.
The low supply environment continues to dominate the industrial sector with April availability standing at only 19.7 million ft2, down 22.4% year on year. Despite developers delivering circa 18 million ft2 of space in the last 12 months, there continues to be a lack of stock available.
Len Rosso, head of Industrial & Logistics at Colliers, comments: “The supply and demand imbalance for industrial space shows no sign of lessening despite the efforts of developers to bring new space online at a rapid pace. There is currently 15.5 million ft2 of new space under construction but given the strong levels of demand this will do little to ease the pressure.
Andrea Ferranti, head of Industrial & Logistics Research at Colliers, added: “The sustained shift towards online shopping and the resulting demand for warehouse space has caused rental growth to accelerate as new speculative supply is absorbed at a rapid pace. The UK saw a rental growth of 3.4%, quarter on quarter while London assets recorded growth of 5.1% over the same period.
