Jake Pygall, Director – Industrial at Avison Young Leeds The North East
Can you tell us what you and your team do, give us some highlights of your role?
As part of the wider Avison Young team, we specialise in industrial and logis- tics, a £6bn sector that delivers vital
services to the UK and continues to grow year-on-year. Our services include leasing, property acquisitions and sales, development, site selection and lease re-gearing. My role is varied in nature, working with a diverse range of people on a vast array of projects.
What type of clients do you typically work with, and how do you tailor your approach to each one?
Clients vary from international household brands to small local enterprises. At the start of each project, I prioritise understanding their goals, objectives and motivations to ensure we get the best results.
Are there any stand out projects or successes from the past year that you can share?
We recently completed a leasing for Leeds 160, a 160,000 sq ft warehouse that had pre- viously been struggling in the market.
After collaborating with the client and con- ducting demographic studies, we recognise the location’s potential for the leisure sector, and shifted the marketing to focus on this type of occupier.
We divided the unit and successfully secured two new tenants; Slazenger Padel (part of Sports Direct), and Flip Out, the UK’s leading trampoline and adventure park operator; making Leeds 160 be their largest UK site. By working closely with planners and the local council, we were able to secure a change of use for the property, creating jobs, amenities for the community and breathing new life into the space.
Can you share any interesting challenges or insights you’ve gained from your recent projects?
We experience challenges on every project, but our role is to bring multiple stakeholders together and create a positive environment that allows for collaboration; sometimes, this is easier said than done, but is one of the most exciting parts of the role.
What emerging trends are you starting to see in the industrial sector?
There are several. Firstly, Industry 4.0 and smart manufacturing. Digital transforma- tion is continuing to evolve through greater integration of automation, AI and Internet of Things technologies. We’ll see more factories become ‘smart’, leveraging this technology to improve efficiency, reduce downtime and lower operational costs. We’re already seeing this play out in the demand that we’re seeing for data centres.
Sustainability is also swiftly becoming a global priority. Just a couple of years ago, it was important to larger developers and occupiers; but now, we are seeing this trickle down to the rest of the market. The indus- try is adopting eco-friendly practices such as
Pilgrim Quarter topping out
Late last year saw a landmark achievement within the Pilgrim’s Quarter development programme with a ‘Topping Out’ cere- mony attended by staff from HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), Newcastle City Council and the project development team.
Visitors to the City Centre will have noticed great progress on the project, arguably one of the largest single occupancy projects in the central core of the city. The office which stands at between six and nine storeys tall wraps around a complete block of property fronting Pilgrim Street, Market Street, New Bridge Street West and John Dobson Street.
The regional centre will provide office accommodation for approx- imately 9,000 HMRC staff and will be the largest of HMRC’s 14 regional centres at 463,000square feet (43,000sq m). The mas- sive building is a major statement in relation to a successful and comprehensive regeneration of the Pilgrim Street area within Newcastle city centre.
Chris Turnbull, Principal at Avison Young who project manage the scheme, comments. “We are delighted that Pilgrim’s Quarter continues to progress on programme to handover to HMRC in late 2025. Like everyone else, we are excited to see the building take shape and celebrate a ‘topping out ceremony’.
Commercial, Town Planning and Project Management services are being provided by Avison Young with Architectural Design by Ryder Architecture and Engineering input by Cundall. The con- tractor is Bowmer and Kirkland.
utilising renewable energy, carbon neutral manufacturing and sustainable materials to drive innovation.
On a similar note, we’re seeing power become increasingly more important – clients either need very little, or a huge amount, and how it is produced is crucial. With more occupiers integrating robotics and AI, requirements are growing.
Finally, advancements in technology will make it possible to create localised production sys- tems, allowing companies to produce goods closer to the point of demand. In turn, this will reduce supply chain complexities and reliance on overseas factories.
Events such as Brexit, COVID, the war in Ukraine and the situation at the Suez Canal, alongside the push to lower carbon foot- prints have highlighted the need to transform the supply chain to become more resilient and agile.
Looking forward, where do you see the industrial sector heading in the next 5-10 years?
The sector will continue to grow, with devel- opment and investment transactions starting to pick up. The occupational market remains strong, with continued rental growth.
As populations continue to grow, so will con- sumption, and we need somewhere to store, manufacture and distribute these consuma- bles from.
The best we can to is to mitigate risk for cli- ents by offering real-time data and advice to inform decision making.
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COMMERCIAL PROPERTY MONTHLY 2025
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