MIPIM 2014: Retailers signed a third of all industrial deals in 2013 and were the only sector to grow their market share in the past two years.
Boosted by mega deals from Marks and Spencer at London Gateway and Sheffield International Rail Freight Terminal, the sector signed for nearly 24m sq ft of named tenant deals last year, according to figures from Estates Gazette Industrial Research, or twice as much as industry and manufacturing which slipped to second place.
Overall, the amount of space signed for rose marginally by 1% to 133m sq ft as the number of deal sizes drooped. The number of deals signed for inched up by around 4%, taking the average deal size in 2013 to 12,200sq ft compared with nearly 14,000sq ft in 2011.
High street favourite Marks and Spencer took 2% of all space leased in the year at 3m sq ft twice as much as 3PL provider Kuehne + Nagel in second place.
Anna Reed, head of data at EGi said: “The march of the retailers has been relentless and we do not see them stopping, that occupier confidence has fed through to investment and we see that picking up too. Interestingly it is the retail sector too that could be releasing sheds for investment through sale and leaseback.”
Investment levels grew by 30% reaching £2.28bn in 2013 with six deals above the £50m mark.
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nadia.elghamry@estatesgazette.com
