Occupiers

Demand has been strong throughout 2020 and there have been some stand out performers…


The sector has again been dominated by the distribution markets, accounting for 90% of total transactions. Third Party Logistics and end user distribution companies have been the most active occupiers taking 70% of total transactions, with direct e-commerce accounting for 19%. Manufacturing transactions have fallen this year, accounting for 11% of total take up. A few of the most active occupiers are as follows:

  • Amazon – Yet again the online behemoth has continued to grow at a pace. The appetite for premises in key locations has totalled approximately 1.2m sq ft across four buildings in the Midlands. This has included major acquisitions in Hinckley, Nottingham and Birmingham.
  • Royal Mail – The parcel delivery business acquired the largest pre-let transaction of the year, committing to 840,000 sq ft at Prologis’s DIRFT.
  • Clipper Logistics – Driven by the government response to the coronavirus pandemic and contracts with the NHS, Clipper have acquired over 2m sq ft of space in the Midlands this year. A majority of this has been on a short term, flexible, basis. The 3PL’s major acquisition this year was on Prologis’ speculatively built DIRFT 535 facility in the heart of the Golden Triangle.
  • DHL - The 3PL agreed terms on two pre-let warehouses at SEGRO’s hugely successful East Midlands Gateway. The buildings of 694,608 sq ft and 192,000 sq ft, once complete, means half of the available land will have been developed out.
  • Super Smart Service – A somewhat surprise addition to this year’s major occupiers following their acquisition of Exeter’s 372,000 sq ft M6DC in Cannock last year. This year, the company have acquired an additional three speculatively built warehouses, totalling c.450,000 sq ft, swallowing a majority of Cannock’s available stock.

DIRFT 535 – Let to Clipper Logistics