Warehousing and commercial property: how the logistics sector is shaping change.

The pandemic has accelerated the already shifting nature of commercial businesses in the country.

There are huge increases in online business and with this comes the increasing demand for warehousing and logistics hubs. Pressure for logistics and warehousing spaces are at record levels which means that as well as changes in the case of existing units from existing uses to this use, there is also a requirement to create new units to satisfy the demand.

There are several factors to be taken into account when considering either renting or buying commercial property of this type, which largely depends on the exact nature of the business. These include matters such as:

• The amount of space required
• The location – relating to customers, delivery routes/transport links, etc.
• Business specific criteria – e.g. businesses that require certain goods to be stored at specific temperatures
• The availability of a workforce
• Is the location/size of unit likely a short term or long term requirementhe huge increase in e-commerce has seen online retail dominate this particular sector of commercial property, with it making up 42% of the volume of warehousing (according to Statista). The signs are that prices of these properties are likely to increase over the next few years, which is why investors favour this sector.

As well as the aforementioned changes, we have seen a decrease in the hospitality and office space sectors due to the effects of the pandemic. For example, it has been noted that large commercial property spaces on the outskirts of towns are being redeveloped from office spaces into logistics and warehousing properties.

Northamptonshire sits within the “Golden Triangle” for the logistics sector, so called because logistics companies and online retail giants choose the area because it’s possible to get to more than 90 per cent of the UK population within a four-hour drive of anywhere within it. This should see the county thrive as evidenced by the current investment on new logistics sites across the.

The firm has itself is a previous winner of the Northamptonshire Logistics Forum awards, “Team of the Year” and acts for a number of logistics companies, of all sizes both local and national. Whatever the issues, contact our sector experts for a free initial chat.