The UK warehousing sector is currently at the centre of a seismic shift in consumer habits, manufacturing processes and government planning policy.

More and more warehousing space is required to meet the demands of the omni-channel retailer. Grocers focus on convenience retail and increased levels of urbanisation have meant the logistics sector has never been more in the spotlight, both from a property perspective but also with regards to the importance of the wider UK economy.

To quantify the UK's warehousing stock, Savills has joined forces with the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) to produce a new report.

This detailed analysis allows us to examine logistics trends among different types of companies in different geographies and also in certain sizes of unit.

The research has identified that for units over 100,000 sq ft there is currently a stock level of 424 million sq ft, which provides a vacancy rate of just 7.5 per cent, down from 22 per cent in 2009.

However, the research reveals good news for some and bad news for others. For landlords and developers, we are seeing increases in rent and lease commitments. But for occupiers, choice of new premises is limited and there is little operational margin to absorb these cost increases, meaning that the consumer will pay in the long term.

With regards to the biggest players, the East Midlands has the highest amount of warehouse space in the UK, accounting for 18 per cent of all stock. We also quantified just how important the retail sector is, accounting for 35 per cent of all stock nationwide. Another key conclusion established the size requirements associated with different operations: almost 80 per cent of food retailers' warehousing, for example, were identified as larger than 250,000 sq ft, while two thirds of parcel operators units were smaller than 250,000 sq ft.

The welcome return to speculative warehouse development has started to have an impact on supply as Savills is tracking 8.9m sq ft through the development pipeline due for delivery in late 2015 and 2016. The availability of this space will trigger new deals as companies start to upsize and will therefore start to give occupiers greater choice and the potential flexibility they need.

Further information

Contact Savills Industrial or download 'The size and make-up of the UK Warehousing Sector' report.