Another good year for industrial units
WEST Yorkshire’s industrial property market is set to continue performing well during the first half of 2018, according to a report.
The latest Logic Report from property agent Knight Frank said that more than 700,000sq ft of industrial/ warehouse space was transacted across West Yorkshire during the second half of 2017 involving units above 50,000 sq ft.
Combined with take-up in the first half of last year, some 1.4m sq ft of space was transacted – in line with 2016’s figures.
The report said availability remained stable as several buildings came onto the market to offset the strong take-up seen earlier in the year.
However, high-quality existing and new build industrial stock in the mid-size range of 30,000sq ft to 75,000sq ft remained in short supply and there was limited speculative development during 2017.
Iain McPhail, partner with Knight Frank’s industrial property team in West Yorkshire, said: “The market rallied during the last three months of 2017. Consequently, we expect to see improved take-up figures in the first six months of this year.
But he said there was a dearth of “big sheds” in West Yorkshire above 200,000sq ft – with the exception of the 215,000sq ft Axis 62 unit in Normanton and The Copperworks on Haigh Park Road, in Leeds, which is currently under refurbishment and extends to more than 300,000sq ft.
Said Mr McPahil: “The lack of stock in this size range has resulted in an increase in activity in the design and build market. Notably the largest deal of the year so far in West Yorkshire involved technology distributor Premier Farnell taking a bespoke 361,000sq ft unit at Muse Development’s Logic Leeds scheme in the Leeds City Region Enterprise zone.
“There has been a marked rise in enquiries and occupier activity since the turn of the year and with several larger buildings already under offer in the region, it is expected to be another good year for the industrial market.” RAND environment specialist Leach Impact has revealed a new merchandise display system that has already “wowed” several major retail names.
Product Wall Max, pictured, premiered at the Retail Shopfitting and Event Summit following more than 12 months of behind-thescenes research, prototyping and development.
The display system is designed to create an atmospheric “exhibition” of products to raise brand awareness and capture customer attention in-store.
The new system is a heavierduty version of Leach’s Product Wall Lite, which was launched by the Bradley-based company last spring.
That display system features magnetic shelving and is intended for lightweight merchandise such as jewellery and footwear,.
Product Wall Max can integrate slotted rails, floating shelves and hooks to handle heavier items including clothing and sports equipment.
Leach head of sales Adrian Wray said: “The purpose of this event was to match us to prospective buyers who are interested in the innovations currently available to retailers. Product Wall Max was therefore incredibly well-received.
“We met with household brands including Karen Millen, Well HUDDERSFIELD-BASED company is set to start work on a wind farm scheme in Scotland.
Whirlwind Renewables, which has offices at the town’s Media Centre, has confirmed that work will start shortly on the wind farm in Caithness in the Scottish Highlands.
It follows funding support from Clydesdale Bank.
Achlachan Wind Farm, which comprises five 2MW turbines, will be one of the first built under the UK Government’s Contracts for Difference (CFD) support mechanism.
Site preparation work will start in a few weeks with the wind farm set to become fully operational by October.
Annual energy production will be sufficient to power about 8,400 homes.
Whirlwind Renewables has been involved in onshore wind projects for the past 10 years and now owns and operates several wind energy projects.
The funding from Clydesdale Bank comprises a £12.75m loan plus ancillary facilities of £8m.
This is the third transaction Whirlwind Renewables has completed with Clydesdale Bank in the last year and the bank’s seventh Project Finance transaction in the past six months.
Tom Surman, development director at Whirlwind Renewables, said: “We have a wide range of experience developing onshore wind projects of all sizes and we are delighted that we are about to commence construction on Achlachan Wind Farm.
“We have been active in Caithness since 2007 and we have been fortunate to receive the support from the local community.” Pharmacy and Co-op, hospitality giant Whitbread, cosmetics specialist L’Oreal and charity Age UK, to name just a few.
“We’re excited to see how these conversations unfold.”
Product Wall Lite has already been installed by Regatta, Specialized and Vivobarefoot.