Take-up of big box industrial space in the North West reached 1.28m sq ft in H1 2026, a drop of 15.5% on the same period in 2025 and 35% below the long-term pre-Covid average, according to new data from Savills.
Availability of space grew by 9.4% to 8.28m sq ft, resulting in a vacancy rate of 8.46%. The increase was largely down to second-hand units entering the market with 1.77m sq ft of second-hand space becoming available.
There are currently nine developments on site with 910,000 sq ft of big box space expected to complete in H2 2026 across six units. The remaining three sites are due to complete in the first half of next year.
Jonathan Atherton, regional head of industrial and logistics at Savills, said: “Rental growth has remained resilient and may be further supported by the ongoing tightening of supply. Encouragingly, a significant volume of space under offer is expected to convert in the near term, supporting a pick-up in occupational activity through Q3.”
