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Occupier demand in big sheds market jumped in H2 of 2012

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Occupier demand in big sheds market jumped in H2 of 2012

Occupier demand in the UK big sheds industrial market grew over the course of 2012, with Grade A take-up twice as high in the second half of the year compared with the first.

That's according to the latest industrial research from Jones Lang LaSalle, which found that while overall take-up in 2012 was nine per cent lower than that seen in 2011, activity picked up in the final six months of the year to boost the sector's performance.

As the figures show, retailers accounted for 36 per cent of all Grade A take-up in 2012 - eight percentage points down on the previous year - but manufacturers increased their share of take-up from 13 per cent to 29 per cent in the same period.

But while demand may have declined, availability of Grade A space fell to 22.1 million sq ft in December - 15 per cent lower than at the end of June 2012.

The research also found that there was 8.3 million sq ft of new floorspace on the market at the end of last year and 332,000 sq ft of space speculatively under construction - the lowest levels recorded by Jones Lang LaSalle since 2005.

Tim Johnson, head of industrial and logistics at Jones Lang LaSalle, said: "The availability of immediately available new floorspace is now at its lowest level since our records began at just over eight million sq ft UK-wide. This is 71 per cent below its pre-recession peak of nearly 29 million sq ft in March 2008 - this definitely affected take up levels last year.

"The availability of good quality space is now a real issue and as a result occupiers are being forced to consider Build to Suit whilst there isn't the new stock available. Developers who own sites with infrastructure and planning already in place will therefore benefit."

If the take-up of floorspace for industrial premises is to increase in the coming year, it seems that availability will play an integral role as the market continues to witness the strain of a supply shortage.


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