Big Box Bulletin
A review of occupier and investment activity in the UK big shed market.
Take-up of big-box grade A units* totalled 19.1 million sq ft in 2023, a 36% decrease year-on-year (YoY) and 40% lower than the 5-year average. This would indicate that leasing activity has fallen back in line with pre-pandemic levels. This sentiment filtered through our big-box enquiry levels in 2023, which were 28% lower than last year. Enquiry levels did pick up towards the latter part of 2023 with a 9% increase in enquiries recorded between H1 2023 and H2 2023 which bodes well for take-up in 2024. Another positive was that the Midlands’ prominence remains, even with leasing volumes moderating. The UK’s logistics heartland accounted for 62% of the leasing market and 51% of all live enquiries received this year, with locations within the ‘Golden Triangle’ (including Northampton, Daventry International Rail Freight Terminal (DIRFT), and Coventry) representing a 52% share of all grade-A big-box deals.