2020 best year on record for UK Logistics take-up
Take-up of UK logistics space in 2020 has exceeded that of any other year on record, with take-up for the year totalling 42.97m sq ft, according to the latest research from global real estate advisor, CBRE.
The figure is 69% higher than 2019, which saw take-up totalling 25.38m sq ft. A total of 134 deals completed in 2020, compared to 92 deals in 2019, representing a 45.7% increase. The pipeline for 2021 continues to look strong with 8.6m sq ft currently under offer.
Online pureplays, companies with limited or no physical presence, and third-party logistics accounted for the largest proportion of total take-up, representing 31.3% and 29.3% respectively. This compares to 22.1% and 22.7% in 2019, where online pureplays and third-party logistics also accounted for the largest proportion of take-up.
The M1 corridor remains the most attractive location for UK logistics, with take-up in the South East and East Midlands representing 49.4% of total take-up in the UK last year. Together with East Midlands and the South East, Yorkshire & the North East and the South West regions also recorded their highest annual take-up figures. The active Yorkshire market has shown a promising start to 2021, with over 3.5 million sq ft under offer.
The pandemic emphasised the importance of logistics operations and demonstrated the resilience of the real estate sector supporting them. Looking forward, we expect appetite for the Logistics sector to continue to grow, with over 8.6 million sq ft currently under offer and available space at its lowest since 2017.
It has been a phenomenal year for logistics take-up: following two record-breaking quarters set in Q2 and Q3, and take-up in Q4 totalling more than 10 million sq ft, almost double the quarterly average. The strength of these numbers has been underpinned by the constant demand for third-party logistics and online pureplays.