Partner Article

Land values rocketing as industrial 'space race' hots up

A lack of available land is driving up land values, according to the latest Industrial Intelligence report from commercial property adviser GVA. The latest GVA data indicates UK land values increased by 3.5% over the six months between March and September, and Greater Manchester/North West has the highest land values per acre north of Birmingham.

Furthermore, the supply of grade A big sheds (over 100,000 sq ft in size) in the North West is currently less than 1.5 million sq ft – with less than 500,00 sq ft of that figure being new built.

The rising land value and shrinkage of available supply has pushed prime headline rents (based on 50,000 sq ft) to £6.00 psf in Manchester – one of the highest rates outside London and the South. The average rent across the North West is £5.50 psf.

Andrew Pexton, Director in GVA’s Manchester Industrial Agency team, commented: “Foremost among the reasons for the ongoing rise in land values in the North West are the sheer weight of money targeting logistics, yield compression and the market forecasting rental growth.

“With the development of strategic sites such as Omega North in Warrington, Logistics North, Bolton and the completion of Peel’s deep water terminal in Liverpool next year, the North West market is likely to build on the strong activity seen over recent years.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by GVA .