Supply

The supply of warehouse space in Scotland for units larger than 100,000 sq ft has fallen 6% in the last year to stand at 1.25m sq ft across nine separate units.

The supply continues to be dominated by second-hand space with no new units available. Currently, 49.7% of the space available is Grade B second-hand space, and 50.3% is Grade C second-hand space. Of the nine units currently available, eight are within the 100,000–200,000 sq ft size band, and there is a single unit within the 200,000–300,000 sq ft size band.

The decrease in the amount of supply in the region has caused the vacancy rate in Scotland to now stand at 5.70%.

The largest unit on the market is 10–12 Cloberfield in Milngavie, totalling 226,449 sq ft – Savills are the acting agents.

Take-up

Take-up of units in H1 2021 reached 550,000 sq ft through a single transaction. HarperCollins has committed to a 550,000 sq ft built-to-suit unit at Nova Business Park in Glasgow. This letting has taken another substantial piece of development land away from the future pipeline.

Take-up continues to be constrained by both shortages in the size and quality of available units throughout the region; occupiers are having to settle for lower quality, and smaller-sized units to satisfy their requirements.

Development pipeline

There are still no units being speculatively developed over 100,000 sq ft in Scotland. As take-up increases, we expect a stable or declining supply which will keep the vacancy rate low in the short to medium term and, in turn, push on rental growth. Consequently, the occupier led build-to-suit market will have to satisfy the needs of the industrial market in Scotland.

_{Read the articles within Big Shed Briefing below.}