NEWS\\\


The logistics property is hotting up aſter the long years of recession, says specialist development consulting firm, Waldeck. In an interview at the Multimodal show on Wednesday 30 April, founder and director Paul Waldeck told FBJ: “Since the crash, all the grade A property stock has been used up.


Logistics operators have


reconfigured buildings to hold more stock, but there is only so much you can achieve with that and many facilities are reaching capacity.” At the same time, the


requirements of e-commerce are becoming more complex, which has again increased the demand for space. The result, says Waldeck, is that


“some people are looking to build speculatively again.” Waldeck sees a particular surge


in interest in port-centric and rail- connected sites, and there is a particular shortage of such places in London and the south-east of England. Because they need to


handle long, thin trains – unlike road-only sites, where trailers can be parked alongside each other or at odd angles - rail-connected sites are particularly land-hungry and very hard to accommodate in the most crowded corner of the country. “The envelope for rail-


connected sites serving London is being pushed ever-northwards, to places like Peterborough or Rugby,” Paul Waldeck explains. A number of developers are


getting involved in the rail market, he


continues. These include


Prologis, which is currently extending the DIRFT site near Daventry in the Midlands, Roxhill which, as well as its involvement in Tilbury’s London Distribution Centre is building rail-connected sites at Rugby, Northampton and Peterborough and specialist rail developer the Kilbride Group. Port centric logistics in its


various forms is also becoming a major area. Of particular interest, says Paul Waldeck, is Gazeley’s


Warehouse lack holds back economic recovery


A chronic lack of readily available, large-scale warehousing could hamper


the UK’s economic


recovery, said managing director of Rhenus’ UK operation, according to David Williams (right). With an ever-increasing


Europe-wide network of own operated distribution hubs, the freight


forwarder is seeking


centrally located warehousing facilities over 100,000 sq ſt, but has found very few available. A severe shortage of operational distribution centres may well prevent foreign businesses from establishing a presence in this country, forcing them to establish job-creating logistics hubs elsewhere, he warned. Williams, said: “We are


currently searching for a major warehouse location for a well- known European brand, but have found only one potentially suitable location within the whole Midlands region. Granted, there are several design and build options, but these would take at least 18 months to develop to an operational level. Most of our customers are looking for fully operational


facilities within a


maximum six month time frame and this paucity of warehousing could significantly hamper growth.” While there is no immediate


solution to this short-term challenge, Williams is


anxious


that developers have access to finance to build warehousing prospectively. “Clearly, we can’t magic 150,000 sq ſt warehouses out of thin air, so we need to build suitable stock as soon as possible. However, without the right access to affordable finance, developers simply won’t take the risk. It would therefore be sensible to see investors and developers working together more closely to ensure vital warehouse stock is constructed as soon as possible.”


recently announced partnership with PD Ports, owners of Teesport and the Port of Hartlepool. The emerging market in green energy is also sparking up the dockside property market, with


the


massively ambitious Green Port Hull scheme getting the go-ahead and


physical work


to be under way next year. “It’s the biggest ticket in the energy market,” says Paul Waldeck. “We’re


expected


Issue 4 2014 - Freight Business Journal


Logistics is facing space shortage, says property firm


supporting ABP (the port operator) and Siemens (who are building a factory for huge offshore windmills, 100 metres taller than the Shard) with the construction of the project.” The other area of the logistics


property market that has tightened lately are cold stores. One by- product of the recession has been increased demand for frozen – as opposed to fresh or chilled - food


and this in turn has thrown up the lack of good, modern, energy- efficient frozen food stores in this country. Much of what does exist is 40 years old, and clearly cannot hope to comply with modern energy-efficiency and carbon emission requirements. Waldeck is increasing involved in developing computer simulations of cold stores for clients in all parts of the UK.


13


Property market is hotting up say Paul Waldeck and key account manager Sue Wright


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