Take-up of industrial and logistics units of more than 50,000 sq ft in West Yorkshire and the Humber reached a three-year high of 2.1m sq ft last year, according to Knight Frank’s latest Logic Report.
Activity was up 25% on 2023 and on par with the pre-pandemic five-year average.
Distribution firms accounted for 34% of take-up last year with some large transactions completed by manufacturers boosting their share of total take-up to 44%, compared with 25% the previous year. During 2024, manufacturers took 859,000 sq ft of space, up on the 407,000 sq ft recorded in 2023 and 262,000 sq ft in 2022.
Demand was highest for units of 50,000 sq ft to 100,000 sq ft, which accounted for 10 of the 18 units transacted during the year.
Prime rents in Leeds grew by 5.1% in 2024 to £9.20/sq ft (units of 50,000 sq ft+). Prime rents across West Yorkshire and the wider Humber region have grown by 36% over the past three years, driven by the dearth of new, prime units.
Iain McPhail, partner in Knight Frank’s Yorkshire industrial and logistics team, said: “Although Q4 was a quieter quarter, with just two transactions totalling 200,000 sq ft, an additional 932,000 sq ft of space was under offer at year-end, boding well for a strong start to 2025.
“The delivery of new speculative schemes to the region over the past 18 months has played a crucial role in boosting take-up volumes. Five speculatively built units were signed up in 2024 – contributing to 23% of the year’s total – compared with just one in 2023. In addition, the return of secondhand space has also provided occupiers with more choice, resulting in a 45% annual uplift in take-up of secondhand space.”
