Supply has fallen by 45%, with the vacancy rate falling to 5.07%.
2025 marks the first pre-let transaction for the region, coupled with record levels of build-to-suit transactions — further strengthening the South West as a strategic location. As a result, we’ve seen a fall in vacancy, and we anticipate further rental growth.
Robert Cleeves, Director, Industrial and Logistics
Savills has been instructed by Panattoni to lease multiple best-in-class big box industrial buildings at Panattoni Park Swindon. Phase 1 comprises two speculatively constructed buildings, delivered to Panattoni’s market-leading specification, providing 545,000 sq ft and 915,000 sq ft. Both units are available for occupation in early 2026. The scheme also offers a 1.25 million sq ft single-occupation build-to-suit (BTS) opportunity, capable of being delivered within 12 months. Phase 2, which commenced in January 2026, will provide a further three speculative units of 158,000 sq ft, 220,000 sq ft, and 260,000 sq ft, further extending the park’s supply of prime, high-performance logistics accommodation.
Supply
At the end of 2025, available supply amounts to 1.92 million sq ft across nine units — this represents a vacancy rate of 5.07%. Compared to the end of 2024, supply has fallen by 45% and vacancy has decreased by 5.22%. The rebalancing of supply and demand has been supported by increased deal activity, particularly for larger units.
Across the region, available supply by grade shows that new, speculative Grade A space makes up the majority of the supply at 45%, reflecting the substantial amount of speculative development in the region during the pandemic. 6% is second-hand Grade A space, 22% is Grade B space, and 27% is low-quality Grade C space. The amount of low-quality Grade C space available has increased substantially from 6% to 27% from the end of 2024 to 2025. This presents opportunities for redevelopment or refurbishment.
Regarding unit sizes, there are four units available in the 100,000–200,000 sq ft range, three in the 200,000–300,000 sq ft range, one in the 300,000–400,000 sq ft range, and one in the 400,000–500,000 sq ft range. There continues to be no units over 500,000 sq ft available following GXO's lease of Panattoni’s Avonmouth 885 unit — which covers 884,219 sq ft — in Q2 2025.
Take-up
Despite geopolitical uncertainty, take-up in the South West has rebounded to levels seen during the pandemic. Take-up for 2025 totals 6.54 million sq ft, which is 423% higher than 2024 and 316% above the pre-pandemic, long-term average (2007–2019). In 2025, there were 15 transactions, up from eight transactions in 2024.
Take-up for the region has been primarily driven by some large deals this year, notably GXO, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, and Wincanton, which together account for 1.92 million sq ft. In addition, a further 2.6 million sq ft was signed by Jaguar Land Rover for a BTS at the Tata facility in Somerset.
In terms of specifications, 22% of the space transacted this year was second-hand, 23% was newly speculative developed space, 2% was space let prior to PC, and the majority of activity involved BTS space, which accounts for 53% of take-up. 2025 saw the first pre-let transaction for the region. By grade, this equates to 24% Grade A speculative space, 58% Grade A space, and 18% Grade B space. There have been no transactions involving Grade C space in 2025.
By size band, there have been five transactions within the 100,000–200,000 sq ft size band, four in the 200,000–300,000 sq ft size band, four in the 300,000–400,000 sq ft size band, and two units over 500,000 sq ft.
Regarding which occupier sectors are taking space, automotive occupiers account for 40% of take-up in 2025, which can be attributed to the large transaction at the Tata facility, followed by third-party logistics providers (3PLs), accounting for 28% of take-up, which continues the trend seen in 2024 of 3PLs being one of the most prominent sectors in the region. The remainder was split across manufacturing firms, the three retail sectors of grocery, online, and high-street retail, and wholesale occupiers.
Development pipeline
Currently, there are five speculative units under construction, totalling 2.37 million sq ft, with all units expected to complete in H1 2026. Of these units, three are over 500,000 sq ft, totalling 2.04 million sq ft. This indicates that the undersupplied 500,000 sq ft size bracket will see an introduction of available space during 2026. Panattoni Park Swindon S915, which covers 915,000 sq ft, is the largest speculative unit under construction across the country.