Abundance of warehouse development bodes well for West Sussex industrial occupiers

Changing shopping habits which resulted from the pandemic meant that uptake from the e-commerce, food delivery and 3PL markets boomed over the last two years.

This significant rise in demand led to a series of major lettings across the Gatwick region to last-mile delivery brands including Hermes, DHL and Amazon, to name but a few.

However, occupier demand has continued to outstrip supply, as industrial stock reached an all-time low thanks in large part to the lack of speculative development right across the south east over the last 20 years – until now.

Thankfully, we are starting to see the supply-demand dynamic translate into development action, with several quality speculative developers active across the Gatwick Diamond region.

This will deliver a much-needed pipeline of speculative industrial and warehouse accommodation to market in Crawley and the surrounding area, over the next 18 months.

Approximately 500,000 sq ft of warehouse space is due to complete this year, with a further 1 million sq ft proposed for 2023 and beyond.

This is likely to result in a two-tier market split between prime industrial in the Gatwick/M23 area, and secondary locations such as Horsham and Burgess Hill.

Indeed, over recent months, we have seen some occupiers priced out of the prime industrial market to these secondary locations, where we are now seeing speculative development too.

Together with the recent news about the re-opening of Gatwick’s south terminal, this is all good news for industrial occupiers in the region, albeit with an eye on rising rents.

Senior Surveyor, Mikael Goldsmith, commented:

“In recent years, occupiers have not had a great deal of choice in industrial premises and have had to compromise on age, specification and location.

As several quality schemes come to market over the next 24 months, this represents a unique opportunity for occupiers in the Gatwick Diamond region, with several sites to pick from, albeit at likely record rents for the region.”

Our Gatwick industrial agency team is well placed to advise occupiers seeking to relocate or acquire new industrial premises in the Gatwick Diamond region.

Contact us for in-depth market insight to help you secure the right industrial premises, at the right price, to meet your business’ future needs.