LISTEN: Take-up of logistics space in the West Midlands is at almost twice the five-year average. But uncertainty created by Brexit, Covid-19 and a global shipping crisis are increasingly forcing occupiers to ask for short-term leases, presenting difficult decisions for landlords, according to Darby Keye director Chris Keye.
Darby Keye is a niche industrial specialist which has nevertheless risen to second in the Radius On Demand Industrial Rankings for the West Midlands region, after transacting 605,174 sq ft of space so far this year. Only JLL has disposed of more space in the West Midlands, where geography makes it a competitive marketplace for the logistics sector.
Keye says pent-up demand, exacerbated by a shortage of available space, means that landlords are frequently able to hang out for long-term leases, but some units are being taken for as little as three months as occupiers look for short-term solutions to ride out the current supply chain chaos. He believes the solution is to work more closely with potential tenants and recognise occupier patterns, in order to deliver the space best suited for their future needs.
