Industrial take-up along the M4 corridor has reached a record high, according to Jones Lang LaSalle.
The agent’s Western corridor industrial report shows that 2.5m sq ft was taken up in the first half of this year in West London and the M4 corridor. This is 50% higher than the 10-year average.
JLL said the volume of deals had been driven by the rise of internet retailing and the need to supply customers in London.
It said that in 2010, online retail accounted for less than 10% of UK retail sales, but that it is forecast to grow faster than high street sales.
The report also found that yields for prime West London shed investments had hardened to 6%, compared with 6.3% in 2010 and 6.8% in 2009.
Andy Harding, JLL national industrial and logistics director, said: “The western corridor is set apart from the rest of the UK, where industrial take-up was substantially reduced in the first half of 2011.
“The most likely drivers of the robust performance are the huge changes in the way retail markets are served.”
The strength of the market also meant that there was a return to small-scale speculative shed development. Chancerygate is working up an 80,000 sq ft development in Southall and Kier is doing the same with a scheme in Uxbridge.
nick.whitten@estatesgazette.com
