The cost of renting industrial property in Liverpool has risen by 16.7% in the last 12 months, the biggest increase anywhere in the UK, according to research released by property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton.
Prices around the city have reached an all time high of £5.25 per square foot for grade A industrial space, and £4.00 for secondary space.
However, these prices are still dwarfed by those in nearby Warrington, which has seen rents increase by another 4.5% taking the cost for Grade A space to £5.75 per square foot and £5.00 for secondary space, making it the most expensive industrial space in the North West.
Robert Diggle, Director, Lambert Smith Hampton, Liverpool said: “Peel’s investment in the Liverpool2 deep water dock has opened up our transport networks, making the city a much more inviting location for logistics businesses. This is subsequently driving up the demand, and therefore prices.
“However it’s not just prices that are changing in the Merseyside industrial property market, there’s a real shift in demand for sizes of unit too. We’ve found that take up of industrial space at the larger end of the scale has risen by 11 per cent over the last year, whereas demand for smaller units of 10,000 sq ft or less has decreased by 24 per cent.
“This is largely as a result of increased market confidence which is resulting in businesses expanding rather than downsizing their operations. We’re also seeing that the growth of online retailers offering same-day delivery services has resulted in increased take-up of warehouses, such as Amazon’s letting of Venus 110.”
Lambert Smith Hampton, which has offices in Liverpool and Manchester, was recently named by industry magazine Estates Gazette as the UK’s top ranking agency for industrial property.
