High demand for Western Corridor industrial market

Around 5.6 million sq ft of industrial floor space was taken up across the Western Corridor in London last year, according to a report by JLL. Around 3.3 million of that floor space was transacted in West London; the remaining 2.3 million sq ft was taken-up in the Thames Valley.

According to JLL take-up in 2017 matched the level of demand recorded in 2016 and was 6 per cent higher than the five-year average from 2013 to 2017 (5.2m sq ft).

Commenting on JLL’s findings, Melinda Cross, director JLL Industrial & Logistics Heathrow/West London, said: “During 2017, JLL’s Industrial & Logistics Heathrow/West team transacted 1.968 million sq ft across 92 deals. The level of Western Corridor demand recorded last year was one of the highest on record and was only surpassed in 2011 when two large big box transactions boosted overall take-up. 2017 represented a more robust level of requirement from the smaller end of the market. The average size of unit taken up in 2017 totalled 12,695 sq ft slightly up on 2016 when the average size of unit taken up was 12,126 sq ft.”