JLL instructed on prime distribution building at Langham Park

JLL has been instructed to market One Langham Park, a prime 164,000 sq ft distribution unit at J.29, M1.

Acting on behalf of Cabot Properties, the building has come available following the vacation of XPO and brings to the market a rare opportunity in the East Midlands for occupiers wanting immediately available high quality big box space.

James Keeton, director at JLL, Nottingham, who are marketing the unit commented: “2017 is on course to be a record year for the Big Box market in the Midlands with some five million sq ft taken up in H1 and the signs that H2 will be equally high. Despite this, the East Midlands has been frustrated by a lack of built and high quality stock and One Langham Park will help in this regard.”

Analysis of the industrial market by JLL identified strong demand for units of 100,000 sq ft and over throughout the region, bucking the national trend.

Having just been instructed on One Langham Park in Chesterfield, James is in a confident mood the 167,274 sq ft unit won’t be around for long.

Keeton reports: “One Langham Park ticks all the big boxes for warehouse space in terms of connectivity and being built to a high specification. Whilst nationally demand has slightly fallen back for Big Boxes, the opposite has been true in this region. A dearth of industrial units has led to more Design & Build and it is rare we get an existing unit come to the market of this size.

“Access to skilled labour is also increasingly a key issue for occupiers and again the East Midlands and Langham Place stands strong on this requirement. Retailers and logistic operators need to deliver on service, which means access to a wide labour pool in a short drive time is essential.

“Connectivity too pushes up demand for prime, modern distribution units and being close to a motorway junction and good road network, fulfills the need for retailers and logistic companies to achieve faster delivery times.”

Keeton is hopeful that delivery of more speculative space in the region will help with the supply issues going forward, but those who need immediate occupation, the second hand market is still the fastest route.

“Potentially, close to 3m of Big Box units could be brought forward in the next 12 to 18 months in the Midlands on a speculative basis. We also see rents growing across the distribution and logistics sectors, at an annual average of close to 3%, between now and 2021, however potentially more for absolute prime locations.