Take-up of UK industrial and logistics space held steady last year with 32.7m sq ft of space transacting compared with 32.6m sq ft in 2023, according to new research from Cushman & Wakefield.
Take-up in H2 reached 12.6m sq ft – 23% below the five-year pre-pandemic average and a 27% reduction on the H2 2023 volume. However, the final quarter of the year saw 47 transactions of 50,000 sq ft or more complete – up from 43 in Q3.
Demand for mid-box assets (50,000 sq ft – 100,000 sq ft) contracted by 10% last year – the lowest level since 2018. Meanwhile, take-up of Grade B space rose by 11% year-on-year as occupiers balanced the need for additional capacity with affordability concerns.
Take-up of UK warehouse space from retail businesses and manufacturers rose by 44% and 10% respectively in 2024, according to Cushman’s data.
Richard Evans, head of UK logistics and industrial at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “It proved to be another challenging year for the market in 2024, characterised by protracted decision-making and low levels of business confidence. Such conditions have undoubtedly had an impact on leasing volumes.
“Despite this, demand levels have held relatively stable, performing in line with 2023 and there remain a number of reasons to be optimistic about market conditions. Having weathered the storm in 2024, an improving consumer market, a new government industrial strategy, and planning reform may help ease pressures throughout the year, and as such we expect occupier activity to gradually improve throughout 2025.”
