Rent for industrial outdoor storage (IOS) space in Wales has seen the biggest rise in the 海角视频, although remains the lowest of any nation or region.
A new report from global property consultancy Knight highlights that IOS is emerging as a vital component of the 海角视频’s industrial landscape, as occupier requirements diversify and business needs change.
Its research shows Swansea, Newport and Cardiff taking the top three places in the latest 海角视频 league table of annual rent increases for IOS. Swansea experienced the highest annual growth at 23%, followed by Newport at 20% and Cardiff 17% For Wales as a whole the growth rate over the last year was 15% .
The headline rent in Cardiff is £1.35 per sq ft, £1.14 for Newport and just 80p for Swansea. Despite the rise the attractiveness of IOS market in Wales is highlighted by the fact that for rival Bristol the headline rent for IOS is £1.85 per sq ft. For prime sites in West London, occupiers are paying £8.50 per sq ft, but Knight Frank said this is less relevant as most occupiers are location driven.
Neil Francis, head of Knight Frank’s Cardiff logistics and industrial division, said: “In South Wales we have certainly witnessed the benefits of the increased demand for open storage. With a lack of quality opportunities in locations close to the M4 motorway landlords like Associated British Ports (ABP) have been able to reposition their land holdings and react to various sized requirements on longer- and shorter-term leases.
“The result in prime locations has seen the steep annual rental increases for key Wales locations as shown in the report. Overall, headline rents have doubled in Wales over the past five years, with no signs of this trend slowing down.”
Helen Thomas, head of property, Wales and short sea ports for ABP said: “As one of the largest industrial landowners in the South Wales these latest figures reflect the strong demand for high-quality, well-located outdoor storage space.
“As the owner and operator of five major ports in South Wales – Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff, and Newport – ABP is proud to play a leading role in the supply of open storage supporting businesses for a range of uses whether that’s for logistics, construction, automotive, decarbonisation and more.
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“Our ability to adapt our land and work closely with occupiers means we can ensure Wales remains a prime destination for industrial investment and ABP is pleased to be investing significantly in further open storage opportunities. We look forward to bringing new sites to market in Newport and Cardiff soon.”
Knight Frank said that traditional key users of IOS space are businesses in the construction industry, with contractors and suppliers typically utilising sites for housing heavy machinery and tools, staging pre-assembly works, and storing bulk and specialised materials such as steel, timber, aggregates, and cladding systems.
However, it said that IOS is being increasingly used to host electric vehicle charging, infrastructure and zero-emission fleet operations as the 海角视频 logistics sector accelerates toward its net-zero targets.