Switch 490 is a pipeline opportunity. Credit: via Robert Beaumont

Knight Frank: West Yorks industrial surges past 2022 take-up

The Logic Report compiled by the consultancy said that 2023’s third quarter saw the year’s total take-up move close to 1.4m sq ft in the 50,000 sq ft-plus market.

Knight Frank said that the steady delivery of new speculative space in West Yorkshire during 2023, a factor largely absent in 2022, is providing more opportunities for occupiers and driving a gradual increase in take-up levels and quoting rents in the region.

Q3 saw saw take-up reach 417,800 sq ft across five deals in the 50,000 sq ft-plus bracket, bringing the year to date total to almost 1.4m sq ft.

Activity so far in 2023 has surpassed the total for 2022 by 54%.

A further 11% of all existing available space is under offer and with recent news of Siemens signing to a new 94,000 sq ft pre-let in Goole, East Yorkshire, Knight Frank said it expects to see further transactions between now and the end of the year.

The firm also drew attention to the letting of OP65, Overland Park, Morley in Leeds, to Leadbeater Transport, at a new headline rent of £8.75 per sq ft. The 65,755 sq ft new build is rated EPC A+ and BREEAM Excellent.

Iain McPhail, industrial partner in KF’s Leeds office, said: “Distribution firms continue to grow their share of the market and account for 75% of the annual total. This is up from 52% over the comparable period last year. Manufacturers comprise a further 15% of the 12-month total to end of Q3.

“We are starting to see a return to a pre-pandemic market, illustrated by positive take-up but further evidenced by the shrinkage in e-commerce requirements and 3PLs looking to fill ‘grey-space’ in their own property portfolio.

“Whilst the supply of immediately available space rose by 42% during Q3, to stand at 2.8m sq ft, this was entirely driven by the return of second-hand space including the 556,000 sq ft ‘Sherburn 550’ warehouse in Selby.”

As a result of this, said McPhail, the vacancy rate has risen from 3% in Q2 to 4.3% in Q3, with second-hand grade B and C stock comprising 76% of all available space across the region.

At the top end of the market, there are just two units of 50,000 sq ft-plus immediately available to occupy, with a further 1.4m sq ft under speculative construction.

McPhail continued: “The existing available space and units under construction equates to about 16 months’ supply against the region’s five-year average annual take-up and beyond the development that is on site, the speculative pipeline is limited due to the absence of institutional funding and available industrial sites, which is hindering new development.

“As a result, we expect the medium-term supply pipeline of units over 50,000 sq ft to remain constrained in our region.

“We may also see an uptick in design and build activity, with several prime development sites in the region being granted reserved matters planning consent for large-scale distribution centres, including Switch 490 at Wakefield Europort.”

Rents have climbed this year, said the firm, with prime rents in both Leeds and Wakefield for units over 50,000 sq ft at 17% higher than this time last year, currently at £8.75 per sq ft. Prime new build mid-box units are now quoting up to £8.95 per sq ft with ‘big box’ (over 350,000 sq ft) guide rents, regionally ranging from £7.75 per sq ft to £8.25 per sq ft.

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