Wales is leading the UK in the increase in rents being paid for Industrial Outdoor Storage sites, according to a new report from global property consultancy Knight Frank.
The report claims that Industrial Outdoor Storage – IOS – is emerging as a vital component of the UK’s industrial landscape, as occupier requirements diversify and business needs change.
Its research shows that Swansea, Newport and Cardiff took the first three places in the latest national league table of annual rent increases for this category of land. Swansea showed the strongest national annual growth at 23 per cent, with Newport second at 20 per cent increase, and Cardiff third with 17 per cent rental growth.
Neil Francis, head of Knight Frank’s Cardiff Logistics and Industrial Division, said: “In South Wales we have certainly witnessed the benefits of the increased demand for open storage. With a lack of quality opportunities in locations close to the M4 motorway landlords like Associated British Ports (ABP) have been able to reposition their land holdings and react to various sized requirements on longer- and shorter-term leases.
“The result in prime locations has seen the steep annual rental increases for key Wales locations as shown in the report. Overall, headline rents have doubled in Wales over the past five years, with no signs of this trend slowing down.”
Helen Thomas, Head of Property, Wales & Short Sea Ports for Associated British Ports, commented: “ABP is one of the largest industrial landowners in the South Wales region, and these latest figures reflect the strong demand for high-quality, well-located outdoor storage space.
“As the owner and operator of five major ports in South Wales – Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff, and Newport – ABP is proud to play a leading role in the supply of open storage supporting businesses for a range of uses whether that’s for logistics, construction, automotive, decarbonisation and more.
“Our ability to adapt our land and work closely with occupiers means we can ensure Wales remains a prime destination for industrial investment and ABP is pleased to be investing significantly in further open storage opportunities. We look forward to bringing new sites to market in Newport and Cardiff soon.”
The Knight Frank research identifies five key sectors where IOS is growing in importance in the industrial property scene. The traditional key users of IOS space are businesses in the construction industry, with contractors and suppliers typically using IOS sites for housing heavy machinery and tools, staging preassembly works, and storing bulk and specialised materials such as steel, timber, aggregates, and cladding systems.
Decarbonisation presents a pressing challenge across the UK, and newer, growing IOS uses include land to host electric vehicle charging, infrastructure and zero-emission fleet operations as the UK logistics sector accelerates toward its net-zero targets.
While self-storage stock is traditionally associated with specially formatted storage buildings, the depth of demand for a range of storage requirements show a broader structural change that increasingly features open or containerised self-storage on IOS sites.
Vehicle storage has been one of the most consistent drivers of demand for IOS in recent years, with IOS offering accessible, secure space for parking, vehicle display, and preparation. Key users include haulage fleets, commercial operators needing long-term storage, logistics providers, operators managing vehicles arriving at or departing from ports, and businesses in automotive sales, leasing, and rentals.
The fifth category identified for IOS use is for ‘just in case’ planning, where materials are increasingly held in IOS yard space as a buffer against delays. This is particularly critical for projects dependent on imported components or subject to long lead times, where on-site storage is impractical. Occupiers in this segment typically seek large, accessible open plots that are capable of handling heavy goods, offer secure storage for extended periods, and allow for rapid scaling up or down of capacity.
The report concludes that from an occupier standpoint, the sector benefits from the same structural shifts in demand that are reshaping the traditional industrial market, but with the added advantage of a flexible, adaptable, and lower-cost alternative to conventional warehousing. This dynamic, coupled with limited supply of prime sites, ensures that high-quality, well-located IOS assets are set to remain highly sought after.