NEWS\\\ UK faces


warehouse squeeze


Prime logistics locations could be facing a shortage of land for logistics purposes, according to a new survey by the UK Warehousing Association (UKWA) and property consultancy, Savills. While the UK has a total of 424


million sq ſt of warehousing space, there is a critical lack of supply and development, says the report, ‘The size and make up of the UK Warehousing Sector’ published on 28 September. UKWA chief executive Peter


Ward said: “This report reveals the true scope of the property challenge facing the logistics sector and UK plc. We call on policy makers, both nationally and locally, to acknowledge the importance of the logistics industry and to deliver policy which allows for the growth of the space required for our industry to continue delivering.” The report found that supply of


warehouses in the UK currently stands at 32 million square feet, giving a vacancy rate of 7.5%. However, Savills classifies 6.5 million square feet as low-grade C stock, which may never be occupied again as they are not fit-for-purpose for today’s logistics requirements, so the vacancy rate is arguably even lower. The study also reveals that


51% of take up has been for Build to Suit units, meaning that land will become increasingly scare in prime logistics locations. The


East Midlands has


the highest amount of space, accounting for 18%, occupiers from different sectors have a need to be in certain locations and require diverse unit sizes. Head of industrial research at


Savills, Kevin Mofid, said: “The availability of modern and fit for purpose warehouse space has the potential to be a real pinch point


for the logistics industry in the coming years. Whilst this initial white paper doesn’t quantify the amount of allocated land in pipeline many schemes that we are tracking are not necessarily deliverable in the short term. “This paper will help frame


the debate on the importance of logistics real estate to the logistics industry, and the vitality of the UK economy moving forward.” In an interview with FBJ, Kevin


Mofid added: “Within the south- east of England, the vacancy rate is only 3.8%, which is among the most acute of any region. There are certain parts where you can count available units on one hand, and I think that’s only going to intensify.” In fact, with developers tempted to find more profitable use for available sites such as housing, it could take “some sort of policy intervention” to ensure that warehousing supply did not dry up completely. Space at developments such


as London Gateway had not been fully built yet, and had not yet had a significant impact on supply, he said.


In contrast, the north-east of


England had one of the least tight markets, with a 12% vacancy rate. North-west England had lately had one of the highest take-up rates and the vacancy rate was now 8%, though arguably the true rate was lower still as much as the remaining stock was old and not fit for modern logistics purposes, said Kevin Mofid. The oſten tight situation in the


major seaports of Southampton and Felixstowe meanwhile had been somewhat alleviated by building of new units along primary road corridors in the region. For a copy of the report visit: www.ukwa.org.uk


Freight forwarder Woodland Group has opened a 155, 000sq ſt


fulfilment centre at its


Chelmsford, Essex headquarters. The multi-million pound investment has been made to satisfy client demand for third party logistics (3PL) services, says fulfilment manager, Luke Fermor. “We took what was a small, clean yet basic transit shed and spent nine months


Issue 7 2015 - Freight Business Journal


Fulfilment centre satisfies logistics need 3


developing it into a state-of-the- art facility.” Woodland now offers services


including pick and pack, insertions, hand bagging, storage, re-packing,


export packing,


jacketing and re-jacketing, palletisation, shrink wrapping, magazine packing, product re- work and bar coding. Fermor adds: “Our 3PL fulfilment centre operates as a


full back office for our clients, who also use our various import services to ship their goods in from source. We have taken on 28 dedicated staff to operate the facility and to support its growth. Shippers that have taken advantage of our added- value services are based all over the country, and as far away as Australia and Hong Kong.” Cargo handled at the fulfilment


centre can be dispatched by pallet


national


throughout Woodland’s and


international


network or third party courier companies. Fermor concluded: “We feel


that having all parts of the jigsaw covered in-house, with global import freight services and bespoke fulfilment requirements suited to each customer, is something very special to offer.”


Peter Ward: Logistics faces a property challenge


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